Windsor Fire Department seeks out young recruits

By Christy Marsters

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Windsor Fire Capt. Tim Frenette said he joined the department as a junior when he was a young teenager and can remember one of the first fires he went to in the early 80s.

It was an apartment fire on the main street in Windsor, Frenette said. “The juniors crewed one of the pumpers on a two-and-a-half-inch line… on the biggest line deployed by hand.”

The experience went over pretty well and everyone was pleased by the end of that night, Frenette said. “Probably 75 per cent of those juniors later pursued a firefighting career.”

However, the Windsor Juniors program seemed to simply fade away with the 80s. But, with a $1,000 offered in a grant from the Town of Windsor, and with lots of work done by the Windsor Fire Department, the program will soon be revived for a new generation.

The department is looking for dedicated youth between the ages of 16 and 18 to join the Windsor Fire Department Cadets, and it will host two information sessions, both starting at 1 p.m., Oct. 11 at Windsor Station #1 and Oct. 19 at Vaughan Station #2.

Capt. Jamie Juteau said this is a great opportunity for youth to take the time to learn and develop the training and skills needed to be a firefighter. “In more of a support role.”

The youth brought in are required to attend a training night and a meeting night once a month as well as any individual specialized night needed, Juteau said. “They would come to the station during a fire call… but we wouldn’t put them in a hazardous environment.

“Also, school’s a priority,” Juteau added. “We don’t want them running out of school.”

Acting/Chief Scott Burgess said the benefit to recruitment at an early age is younger people are able get the fire training needed. “We’re having a very hard time recruiting fresh faces.”

However, firefighting is not meant for just anyone because there is a lot of regimentation and dictation associated with it and someone looking to join has to be energetic, motivated and willing to learn, Burgess said. “And they must work, or learn to work, with others.”

The good thing is these are all things employers will also look for, Burgess added.