Niverville Fire and EMS has announced two initiatives to ramp up its fundraising for a new set of rescue tools. The powerful hydraulic scissors are used in emergency situations, particularly car crashes, to create an opening and pull people out of damaged vehicles after severe collisions.
Fire chief Keith Bueckert says the rescue toolsset they currently have is obsolete and needs to be replaced.
“We are moving away from the set that we have and toward a set that is battery-operated, that won’t have as many limitations, because they won’t have cords on them,” says Bueckert. “The applications will help us move beyond vehicle extrications.”
Almost $14,000 has been raised so far out of a $55,000 goal.
To help with the fundraising effort, the department is bringing back its perogy dinner fundraiser, which has been cancelled for the past two years. They invite everyone to come to the Golden Friendship Centre on November 11 from 5:00–8:30 p.m.
Bueckert encourages anyone interested to arrive early.
“COVID stopped our perogy supper from happening for the last two years and that was a fundraising event we’ve had for probably close to 12 years,” he says. “We are very excited and we think people will be very glad to see the event comes back, so we are getting the feeling it may be a packed house.”
The event has often been used to raise funds for tools or initiatives that can’t be covered in the regular Fire and EMS budget.
“The [Town of Niverville] is great at meeting our needs and providing for our general fund, but the perogy dinner is for our wish list,” says Bueckert. “So this year, we are fundraising for a new set of [rescue tools].”
The second initiative is a limited time donation matching program. The department has been approached by a local business that has offered to match any donations that come in, not including the perogy dinner. This anonymous donor encourages other local businesses and any private donors to take the opportunity to give now. All contributions are welcome, whether large or small.
“The generous offer is to match any donation up to a total of $25,000,” says Bueckert.
Anyone interested in making a donation can contact Niverville Fire and EMS at 388-6484 or firechief@whereyoubelong.ca. Tax receipts for any donation will be issued from the Town of Niverville. The donation matching opportunity is projected to end on December 2, 2022.
Open House
The department also held an open house on October 11, during the province’s annual Fire Safety Week. The fire department staff was excited to be hold the community event after it had been postponed for the last two years.
Despite the weather, more than 100 people came out to see the station and trucks, meet the firefighters, and enjoy refreshments.
“The weather did not cooperate. It was crummy,” says fire chief Keith Bueckert. “So there were some things we weren’t able to do. But it was great to be able to have one, because we hadn’t had one in a couple of years.”
Outdoor demonstrations were cancelled due to wind, such as a fire extinguisher demonstration and showing how the rescue tools work.
“We usually do some outdoor demonstrations and we have a fire safety house that we can set up outside,” Bueckert says. “But we needed to have people inside so they weren’t freezing.”
“We’ve cut up cars in the past, too,” added Niverville firefighter Chris Rideout. “We would get cars donated that were wrecked and of no value, but we just weren’t able to do that this year. People didn’t seem to mind. Even though it was cold, there were constantly people going out to see the trucks outside.”
Guests seemed happy to have been invited to view the fire trucks and hear about the town’s firefighting operations. Some kids had the opportunity to dress in firefighting gear.
Another highlight for the kids: an appearance from Sparky, the provincial fire safety mascot.
“Sparky was there handing out colouring books to the kids,” says Bueckert. “It was nice to have this back in our community and we like to do it every year. Maybe we’ll have to change the week we do it so we pick a time of year where the weather is a little nicer.”
The event also involved a food drive for Niverville Helping Hands and many families with children had a great time meeting players from the Niverville Nighthawks, who were in attendance to sign autographs.