Barbara Latkowski
Caledonia Courier
In an effort to keep Sowchea Fire Hall up and running, a new intake of applications has begun.
The due date is Feb. 10.
These applications are part of an extra recruit session that the Fort St. James Fire Department has added and will begin on Feb. 15.
The department is still running a prescheduled recruit course on April 18. The deadline for these applications is April 4.
“The plan for this course is to have another intake of juniors from the high school as well as adults,” Fire Chief, Michael Navratil said.
“There seems to be an odd amount of rumours that we do not take shift workers which is simply false. It is a little more work for them as they need to make up for missed classes but we are always willing to work with them if they or any new recruit makes the effort,” Navratil said.
Just a few weeks after celebrating their tenth anniversary, members of the satellite location were faced with some unexpected news.
The fire hall’s insurer advised that insurance may be suspended or even refused based on the fire protection area not being able to maintain a roster of 10 members.
Mayor MacDougall along with council agreed to set a meeting to discuss further the future of the Dept.
“We have a huge investment there,” MacDougall said. “It’s important to us too.”
With an immediate intake of applications Navratil hopes that the situation will soon be solved.
In 2005, residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of establishing the new fire hall which was built in 2006 and the community has seen many positive changes since.
John Bennison has been with the department for 13 years. “We are proud of the construction of the second fire hall and being able to serve the Sowchea community,” Bennison said.