They're tired of spending the winter on pins and needles.
The Englefeld Fire Department (EFD) is in need of a new fire hall, one which will house all of their equipment, including all three of their trucks.
So the village is planning to build one for them. But they are hoping to garner some financial support from the community to share the burden of the $100,000 price tag.
The hall
Englefeld Fire Chief Dave Regie reported that their current hall houses their pumper truck. However, their tanker truck and rescue unit have to be housed in the village's maintenance shop about a block away, which is not heated.
This means that, over the winter, the tanker sits drained of water.
And that means that local firefighters hope and pray that there are no major fires.
Their pumper, after all, can only hold 500 gallons of water. At a major fire, that lasts just a handful of minutes - seven, to be exact, if the pressure is kept at 100 lbs. Less if they turn it up.
And in the winter, access to other water in the rural areas, like that in dugouts and sloughs, is also limited.
The EFD can always fill their tanker, should the need arise when it's empty in the winter, but that takes 20 minutes, and in the case of a major house fire, especially if it's out of town, "you need water right now," Regie said.
The EFD has been fortunate in that they haven't had many fires over the winter months in the past few years. They have had some calls in town which were not so bad, he said, and outside of Englefeld, anything that has caught on fire has been minor.
"Not homes," Regie said, "but machine sheds or barns."
Still, firefighters sit on pins and needles when it gets to be -30C, noted EFD deputy chief and village councillor Arden Herman, hoping that their pagers don't go off.
It's tough, he indicated, to respond to something that could be major with only 500 gallons of water.
With their tanker, which holds 1,200 gallons of water, in a heated building and ready to go, they would be more prepared for a major fire at any time of year.
And while they do have a mutual aid agreement with Watson and Humboldt, and are willing and able to call on those departments for help, they would be more comfortable knowing that they can put all of the equipment they have to use, whether it's cold outside or not.
The rescue unit is another piece of machinery firefighters would like to have ready to roll.
The department just purchased the unit last year, and so far, it's only been used once. It sits in unheated storage next to the tanker, and though it doesn't have to be in a heated garage, "it's a diesel engine, so it would run better if it was," Regie pointed out.
The current fire hall, built in the early 1980s, has just enough room for their 1977 pumper truck, the firefighters' bunker gear and not much else. There is barely enough room between the truck and the gear to fit a small table.
"It's very crowded," agreed Regie.
That makes it tough for the department to hold meetings in the hall.
"We manage right now," he said. "Some guys sit on the truck and there are some more chairs around."
It's small, because the provincial requirements for equipment were not as strict when this hall was built as they are now.
"The type of equipment required by any fire department now takes up a lot of room," Herman said.
From air tanks to bunker gear, everything needed to operate a fire department now takes up far more room, and their hall is not equipped to hold it all. That's why it's spread over two locations.
But having all of their equipment in one location would help the EFD respond faster and more efficiently in times of need.
A new hall will also give them a more coordinated response, noted Herman.
With everything under one roof, they will know which firefighters have responded to a call, and exactly which vehicles are out.
Plus, put in village administrator Lani Best, all the equipment needed for the fire department costs so much, they want to store it properly so that it lasts.
Each set of bunker gear alone costs over $1,000, she noted.
The price tag
The village of Englefeld agrees that a new fire hall is definitely needed, and they are planning to build a new one.
But even with the firefighters promising to donate a large part of the labour to build it, the hall will still cost about $100,000, which is big bucks for a small town of fewer than 300 people.
The village and fire department have now put the call out for donations to their building fund. They have already embarked on a letter writing campaign, hoping to gain support, and plans are in the works for a silent auction at the village's annual Hog Fest in June.
The EFD's firefighters have also agreed to throw in half of what they usually raise in a year to purchase equipment to the building fund.
Just where the new hall will go has yet to be determined.
They have three different sites that they could choose, noted Mayor Darrell Athmer.
"We haven't decided completely, 100 per cent where it's going to go," he said.
The design of the building is also still up for debate. They do know it will have three bays for their three trucks, along with a meeting room and some storage areas.
They want to get this building up as soon as possible, and are hoping to start construction in June.
The department
The EFD is a very active fire department, Regie reported. They have 11 active firefighters who are "all willing to get up and go in the middle of the night."
For major fires, they usually have between six and 11 firefighters respond, which is an excellent response for such a small department.
On average, they respond to between eight to 10 calls per year, Regie said. Usually, they fight grass fires, but there is the odd structure fire, and they also assist at motor vehicle collisions in their area, usually directing traffic, as their department does not own any Jaws of Life.
They also meet once a month and have practise or training sessions about every two months.
Many of the members have been on the department for over or nearly 20 years, so there is a wealth of experience to draw from. Regie has been fire chief for 14 years.
Having a fire department covering the Englefeld area is important, Regie indicated.
They have an area to which they are called to respond first, because they are the closest department, and minutes count in an emergency situation.
"Five to 10 minutes could be the difference between going up in flames or saving some stuff or somebody," Herman noted.
