The Quesnel Fire Department will provide training support to the Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade, which recently brought on several new members.
Quesnel council voted at its Nov. 26 meeting to support the Quesnel Fire Department providing training support in Wells.
The District of Wells sent a letter to the City of Quesnel at the end of October requesting support for the Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade.
“The District of Wells staff and council would like to thank the City of Quesnel and its fire department for its ongoing support,” Wells chief administrative officer Donna Forseille wrote in her Oct. 30 letter, which noted herself and Wells Mayor Gabe Fourchalk met with Quesnel city manager Byron Johnson and Quesnel fire chief Sylvain Gauthier on Oct. 17.
Wells council is asking the City for support for training with the Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade and is requesting to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City for their support.
“District staff and council can appreciate that the City of Quesnel needs some assurance that there will be no liability to them as a result of offering training to the Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade,” wrote Forseille. “We are happy to enter into an agreement or MOU which clearly outlines that there is no liability to the City of Quesnel.”
City manager Byron Johnson told council the feeling is that Wells now has the numbers to hold a sustainable fire brigade, but there is a mix of experienced and new volunteers involved, and Wells has asked for support from the Quesnel Fire Department.
“The City has quite a long history of helping the Wells Fire Brigade,” Johnson told council. “The [fire] chief does support this assistance.”
Johnson told council the Quesnel firefighters would go out to Wells so they can use the equipment they have in Wells and do a risk assessment in the community. He expects the Quesnel firefighters would go to Wells for two or three sessions, and he told council the City would enter into an MOU before doing any training.