New Firefighters Hired On in Welland
WELLAND - Firefighters fight for their fellow citizens every day.
They'll fight to save a burning house, help people trapped in a crumpled car, and assist those in need of medical attention. They'll fight to get people out of any situation man or nature can throw at them.
But before they can do that, they have to fight to make their dream of becoming a firefighter a reality.
For Fort Erie's Rob Tatarnuk, 44, and Thorold's Kyle Lehan, 23, that dream of becoming a firefighter came true three months ago when Welland Fire and Emergency Services hired both of them on.
“It’s not easy, there is a lot that has to be done and it’s pretty typical for applicants (to take physical assessment tests and apply for multiple city’s hiring lists) more than once,” said Welland fire Chief Denys Prevost.
Tatarnuk and Lehan have taken different paths, but both hope to excel and learn as much as they can over the years in their careers as firefighters in Welland.
Tatarnuk spent a good chunk of his childhood hanging round the fire hall because his father spent 30 years as a volunteer firefighter.
“We used to hang out at the hall a lot, it was a family atmosphere. Back in the day it used to be a real social place with Christmas parties, June cook out and stuff,” he said.
He chose to become a firefighter to help community and spent almost 14 years as a volunteer firefighter at Station 4 in Ridegway. He owned his own welding and trucking company for 13 years.
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“This is a bit different than volunteering, just the knowledge level. It’s a huge difference from volunteering,” he said. “The sense of community is the same though.”
Tatarnuk said he was lucky to own his own business because it gave him the opportunity to get fit and continue studying.
He took several programs at the Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst and received a paramedic certificate, a diesel mechanic license, hazardous materials technician certificate and a confined space certificate.
“We get a call almost every 25 minutes and we don’t really know what we’re going to find when we get there,” Prevost said. “You can literally point at anything and a firefighter will know something about it because they have to.”
Lehan’s father is also a career firefighter who spent 31 years at in Thorold. Like Tatarnuk, Lehan said that inspired him to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I saw how happy the job made him, so I went for it,” Lehan said.
He spent three years at Lambton College in Sarnia taking the fire sciences program and from there another four years as a volunteer firefighter in Thorold.
Lehan applied to multiple municipalities many times to get on hiring lists, at a cost of $400 per application, that expire every two years .
“It’s not easy to keep applying, get so far and hear nothing back,” he said.
Prevost said the department intends to hire one or two more firefighters sometime this spring and he anticipates he will receive more than 100 applications for each position.
He said applicants must be physically fit and have their high school diploma, but there are very few jobs available and having more education and an athletic history is an asset.
“It’s not really strength, it’s endurance and really, overall health,” Prevost said.
Applicants must take a physical ability test that measures several components at Brock University and a written test.
Once they are hired they spend a year on probation learning on the job and completing written career training.
“This job is a constant learning process,” Captain Mike Fowler said. “We never stop learning. We look at every situation and prioritize life, property, environment. Incidents are very diversified, so our knowledge base has to be to. It’s our responsibility to keep everyone safe. I have to be concerned about my safety, the safety of my crew, citizens, bystanders, police, EMS, media – everybody.”
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