Preparation, training and the right tool for the job

Indiana firefighters use Safe Community grant for invaluable Class 'B' firefighting foam

When you’re a firefighter, a day can change in a heartbeat. A shift that starts with chores at the station can end in battling a five-alarm fire. Uncertainty is part of the job.

“Five minutes from now, our department could be called out to a train accident or a major highway accident or a pipeline emergency,” says Nate Williams, chief of training for the Chesterton Fire Department in Chesterton, Indiana. “As an emergency responder, we never know when we’re going to have to use the skills we’ve been given. We never know what’s going to happen five minutes from now, so we need to be prepared and we need to be trained.”

Preparation and training are a firefighter’s best shot at certainty on the job. Recently, the firefighters of the Chesterton Fire Department moved a little closer to certainty with a grant from Enbridge’s Safe Community program – issued to support the purchase of, and training with, Class B firefighting foam.

The foam is used to suppress flammable liquid fires. It cools the fire and coats the fuel, starving the fire of oxygen. It works on fires where water cannot.

Though important, firefighting foam is also expensive and tricky to use. Through the use of Enbridge’s Safe Community grant, Chesterton FD now has 50 gallons of Class B foam on order, with a supply of cheaper and more environmentally training foam on its way. Williams plans to lead three days of training sessions with up to 100 staff and volunteers from Chesterton FD and departments from neighboring communities.

Making a positive impact on first-responder services in rural communities such as Chesterton is a key mandate of Enbridge’s Safe Community program, says Jennifer Smith, an Indiana-based Community Affairs Advisor for Enbridge.

“The Safe Community grants allow our local emergency responders to get training and purchase equipment that they might otherwise not have funding for,” says Smith. “It’s beneficial for us all to have a more prepared community.”

Since its inception, Enbridge’s Safe Community program has invested more than $5.7-million in emergency responder organizations based in North American rural municipalities, which often operate on a limited tax base. Grants are used for safety equipment, professional training, and educational programs to help save lives and keep Enbridge’s right-of-way communities safe.

Williams says the benefits of the Safe Community grant for his station will reach beyond the fire hall.

“I’m a firm believer that any time you can provide high quality education with hands-on experience, you’re benefiting the community,” he says. “I don’t know that I could even put a value on this training . . . it’s priceless, in my mind.”