Residents of a Sask. village and surrounding RMs pitch in to improve the home base of their volunteer fire department
The residents of Dinsmore, Sask., and those living in surrounding rural municipalities have pulled together to build a larger, better-outfitted fire hall.
The rural municipalities of Milden, Fertile Valley and King George partnered with the Village of Dinsmore to provide 25 percent of the capital investment. Additional funds were provided through Dinsmore and District Fire Protection fundraisers and personal funds.
“There was no funding from any source of government,” said Dinsmore fire chief Gregg Orban. “The whole upstairs, all of the racks, the bathroom vanities, the kitchen, all of that was cut out (from funding). We supplied it. We’ve got $42,000 invested in this place out of our own pocket.”
The new fire hall, the third hall the village has had since it was founded in 1913, has five 18-foot doors in the front and one on the side. There are fill stations at each door and in the back, and the trucks have been modified to make filling quick and easy.
Their old fire hall lacked rural accessibility and enough room for their fleet. Two of their trucks sat outside through winter, which made them useless if a call came. Now, each truck is filled and ready.
The fire department officially moved in to the new hall Feb. 9, but the grand opening was held June 25.
Fred Harrison was on the council for the RM of Fertile Valley and supported the new hall.
“We fought for years to get this fire department built,” said Harrison. “Some of them say, this is something you’ll probably never use, but how can you put a value on property and life?”
There are 13 volunteer firefighters and three volunteer dispatchers. Most of the volunteers are farmers who live in the area. The group covers about 1,800 sq. kilometres.
The hall includes a dispatch room and a large equipment change room on one level. Upstairs, it has a furnished meeting and break room as well as a kitchen.
The floor is heated throughout, with the proper drainage so trucks can be washed indoors all year. Previously, washing trucks was impossible until warmer weather arrived and it could be carried out outside.
The fleet has five trucks, plus the first fire truck in Dinsmore and District Fire Protection history that was previously kept in the Dinsmore Museum. They have a 1997 wildland truck, a 2006 rescue truck used for highway accidents and other rescue procedures, a 2010 3,500-gallon tanker and a 1975 fire truck.
The main engine they use was built in 1998 and bought in Florida. It cost the fire department $125,000 in 2008 and they had to “Saskatchewanize” it upon arrival.
Finding funds for upgrading equipment is a challenge because they have to be found internally, through fundraising or out-of-pocket expenses.
“In theory, you’re supposed to put them to second use after 20 years, and this one is 25. There’s no way it’s going to get replaced,” said Orban. “It should be taller, it should have more water, but that’s probably $200,000 to replace that now.”
Maintaining and fixing the trucks also becomes a challenge, as does buying the gear and equipment the firefighters need to do their job.
“Even the turnout gear, it’s so expensive now. It’s $2,500 to $3,000,” said Orban. “Then these trucks always break down, and they’ll break down at the wrong time when there’s no money.”
However, the new building will make it easier to maintain the trucks because they are parked in a heated shop.
Orban said he hopes to add a back-up generator and make it an emergency shelter in the future.
He has been the fire chief for the last 30 years and hopes to leave it as a legacy project when he passes the torch.
