The Minnedosa Fire Department received a big boost this summer with a significant donation from Cenovus Energy, a Canadian corporation which runs an ethanol plant in the community. The company has donated a total of $175,000 over the past year towards the new fire training grounds and specialised equipment for the fire department, above and beyond the contribution it makes for contracted fire services.

Representatives from Cenovus visited the new Minnedosa Fire Training Grounds to announce the latest instalments of the donation, $100,000 towards a new pumper truck for the department and $55,000 directly for development of the fire training grounds. Their partnership with the fire department goes beyond the contributions towards training and equipment. In a model that they hope to be able to replicate elsewhere in Canada, training through the fire department is available to Cenovus employees to enhance safety in the facility.

Fire Chief Dean Jordan spoke with NACTV about the facilities that have already been built on the site. These include two live fire facilities - a burn car for vehicle fires and a burn can to train under hot conditions - as well as a two-storey mock house made from sea cans that has several different training simulations inside. The mock house will use smoke isolation during training rather than live fire. He was also sure to mention that many other local individuals and companies have stepped up with donations towards the training grounds and fire department operations.

One of Minnedosa’s volunteer firefighters offered a full tour of the mock house to show the details of its construction and how the department uses the facility. The second floor of the building is made up of several moveable walls that create individual rooms.This design allows them to train in different layouts and simulate different conditions in different rooms. The second level also has a trap door to train for falls and hoisting..

The main floor of the facility will feature furnished rooms, including a kitchen and a living room, that can also be moved around to simulate different layouts and different conditions. Finally, also on the main floor, is a purpose-built maze, or obstacle course, that the firefighters train on while in full equipment. It features simulated conditions that the other rooms can’t including collapsing floors, tight spaces, restricted entry and exit, and unstable footing.

Every piece of the training grounds was designed for the needs of a rural fire department and constructed by local contractors. Jordan indicated they also still have available land to the south of the current facilities that they could develop for the future.