According to Deputy Fire Chief Paul Houle, this year’s Ritchot Fire Department open house on September 18 was another success. Dozens of Ritchot residents turned out for the annual event, held at the St. Adolphe firehall on Wednesday night.
A large contingent of the volunteer fire crew were on hand barbecuing hot dogs and showing off the equipment.
Houle says the open house provides an opportunity, once per year, for residents to meet their local volunteer firefighters and find out what their taxes are paying for. Of course, it’s also an opportunity for local children to get up close and personal with the firefighters in uniform and the flashy red equipment they use.
“The kids really enjoy it,” says Houle. “They like to sit in the fire trucks and stuff.”
The fire station grounds were cordoned off to make room for a good sampling of the specialty equipment the RM owns. In total, Ritchot is home to three pumper trucks, three half-ton trucks, a rescue truck and trailer, a couple of tanker trucks, a quad tanker for wildfire situations, and three rescue boats.
The Ritchot fire team is trained to perform surface rescues on the water.
“Obviously, the Red River is in our area, so we need to be able to do water rescue,” says Houle.
Houle provides an example of a water rescue his team performed a few years ago near Ste. Agathe. It involved a grandfather and grandson in a high wave situation with a capsized canoe. After the grandson managed to make his way to shore, the Ritchot fire brigade was able to rescue the grandfather, who was clinging to the overturned canoe until help arrived.
One of the vehicles on display at Wednesday’s open house was a large tanker truck which Houle says is fairly new to the fire brigade and was badly needed to replace the old tanker.
“We applied for a grant for a replacement tanker,” says Houle. “We were awarded it and then the municipality actually kicked in some extra money and we wound up getting a much bigger tanker.”
In order to meet certain standards, he adds, the tanker must have the capacity to flow a specific number of litres of water per minute for a certain duration of time, and this tanker can do that.
To keep things fun, the fire crew provided a variety of demonstrations and hands-on activities for attendees to participate in.
Adults and kids were invited to experience what it feels like to use a low-pressure fire hose. In another area, firefighters lit a steel firepan and taught participants proper fire extinguisher techniques. The pan fire is fed by a propane source which can be turned on and off for safety purposes during demonstrations.
“We had the kids and everyone doing that,” says Houle. “We talked about the point, aim, squeeze, and sweep [technique] with a fire extinguisher. That gives them some skills to bring back home.”
Firefighter skills were also showcased for those who were curious. One such demonstration included the Houdini-like escape of a Ritchot firefighter through a hole in a wall that appeared to be barely big enough for a child to squeeze through.
Like most buildings, the wall was made with drywall covering studs that are 16 inches apart. A hole was cut through the drywall between one set of studs. Through this narrow gap, a firefighter maneuvered to safety wearing full turnout gear and an air tank.
“This is one of the self-rescue skills we have,” Houle says. “If ever we go into a house fire and we lose our way out for some reason, we can literally go through walls to get out of the building.”
