BCPFFA News
It is with a very heavy heart that I inform all members of the BC Professional Fire Fighters
Association of the passing of Brother Clayton Murrell. Brother Murrell was a fire suppression
Captain in Cranbrook, President of Local 1253 and Vice President on the BCPFFA Executive
Board for the Kootenay Region.
For immediate release
January 18, 2018
Fire Fighters to Receive Mayday Training and Survival Skills
Burnaby BC – BC Professional Fire Fighters are set to receive Fire Ground Survival (FGS) training from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), a program designed to provide consistent Mayday operations throughout the fire service and to increase fire fighter survivability when the unpredictable happens.
Fire fighter fatality data from the U.S. Fire Administration show that fire fighters becoming trapped or disoriented are major factors in structural fire ground fatalities. And while no similar office in Canada exists to track this data, the belief among fire fighters on the ground is strikingly similar. These incidents in which fire fighters have lost their lives have a consistent theme – inadequate situational awareness put them at risk.
“This training will equip fire fighters with the knowledge and skill set of survival techniques for making life-saving decisions under extremely stressful situations,” states Michael Hurley IAFF 6th District Vice President.
The IAFF Fire Ground Survival training applies lessons learned from investigations conducted by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of fire fighter fatality incidents. The four-day intensive training will cross-train fire fighters to become instructors who can then provide these fire ground survival skills to all the department’s fire fighters.
Funded by a grant from the Assistance to Fire Fighters (AFG) grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has now made available in Canada the training – which uses props that simulate potential fire ground scenarios – which teaches fire fighters to perform potentially lifesaving actions if they ever face a situation in which they become lost, disoriented, injured, trapped or low on air.
BCPFFA President Gord Ditchburn says, “We are thankful for the IAFF providing the FGS program. This training reduces fire fighter injuries or fatalities and will help ensure that we fire fighters go home to their families at the end of the day.”
Interested Media can witness the FGS training on January 24th, 2018 anytime between 10am to 3pm at FireHall #7 - 3151 Gilmore Diversion, Burnaby, BC V5G 1E8. For background information visit the Fire Ground Survival Website. Media Contacts: BCPFFA President Gord Ditchburn (604) 916-7110 or IAFF 6th District Vice-President Michael Hurley (604) 219-4966
Drop by Bright Nights in Stanley Park and support the BC Burn Fund. Purchase Tickets Here
The IAFF is pleased to announce an IAFF Wine Club for Canadian IAFF members, beginning with members living in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia with other provinces to be added in the future.
The IAFF Wine Club, a partnership between the IAFF and Arterra Wines Canada, delivers top Canadian wines to your door from Great Estates Okanagan and Great Estates Niagara wineries, with 15 per cent of profits benefiting the IAFF Burn Fund in Canada.
Participation in the IAFF Wine Club also brings you exclusive offers on winery tours, merchandise and other items such as invitations to exclusive members-only events.
Click Here for information about the IAFF Wine Club in either western Canada or eastern Canada. For IAFF members in provinces not yet eligible, we appreciate your patience as we work to meet the necessary regulatory requirements for shipping to your province.
The British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Association (BCPFFA), with support from 6th District Vice President Mike Hurley, has been approved for an IAFF Fire Ground Survival (FGS) mobile training unit (trailer) for the purposes of delivering the IAFF’s FGS training program to our members across the BCPFFA. The IAFF has partnered with the BCPFFA to develop a service delivery model for this program and the utilization of the trailer, where required.
The process will involve in "Training the Trainer" over the course. The mobile unit will be sent to all regions of BC to those Fire Departments with FGS instructors and who want to learn Fire Ground Survival Life Saving Skills.
