Shelburne Fire Department receives funding for training

April 22, 2021 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Dufferin-Caledon fire services have been granted new funding to help enhance training and other programs.

MPP Sylvia Jones announced on April 13 that six municipalities in Dufferin County and Caledon would be receiving a total of $56,000 to help enhance fire safety training and support safety inspection programs for local fire services ensuring compliance with the Ontario Fire Code. The funding is part of a $5 million provincial investment.

“Our government is committed to supporting Ontario’s fire services and thank them for their dedication to protecting our communities,” said Jones. “This new investment will enhance fire safety in Dufferin-Caledon by providing the technology and equipment needed to support training and fire inspections during these unprecedented times.”

Shelburne and District Fire Department will be receiving $6,600 in funding from the grant, which will go directly to supporting training opportunities.

Speaking with the Free Press, Shelburne Fire Chief Ralph Snyder said the funding will make training much easier for the
fire department.

The Shelburne Fire Department, like many fire departments, has faced challenges in conducting training due to the risk brought on by COVID-19.

Snyder said as regulations change the local department has been forced to also rearrange training to the point where they’re training four nights a week.

“That’s a fairly big workload on a bunch of volunteers because it means that some people are working two or three evening a week to meet the demands,” said Snyder.

The Shelburne Fire Department operates on volunteer firefighters.

With the new funding Snyder said the department will be upgrading training programs to do more virtual training for firefighters.

“We’re going to purchase some hardware and software to be able to do online and virtual training with our firefighters. We’re also going to used it to train some people to be able to do more in house training without having to go outside vendors for training.”

Other municipalities that will receive the grant include The Town of Grand Valley ($5,300), the Town of Mono ($6,700), the Township of Mulmur ($5,400), Orangeville ($11,700), and Caledon ($21,000).