Drones make a lot of sense for use in firefighting but they are expensive. McDougall Fire Chief Brian Leduc will be using a partnership to share the cost of the drone. The McDougall Firefighters Association and Jenny’s Heroes Canada will each contribute half of the cost (total: $4,479) to purchase a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual Kit Firefighter Drone.

The municipality has a mixture of semi-dense urban area with hydrants, along with some completely remote wilderness with cottages and campsites. These are difficult terrains to access, with some being water access only islands. “The drone will make our jobs as emergency first responders safer because the drone can fly into environments that would be very dangerous for firefighters to enter themselves,” said Chief Leduc.  “The drone can fly into areas quicker that we can walk thus providing better outcomes for victims and crew members.”

This will provide valuable help with search & rescue, hazmat, wild land & structural Fires. Chief Leduc will also share the drone with all of their mutual aid partner fire departments. I called the Chief to congratulate him on receiving the grant. He said he was standing in six inches of snow! I am in California but grew up in Ontario so I know how beautiful that snow is.

The entirely volunteer Watten Fire Department serves an unincorporated area of 450 permanent year-round residents but from May to October, the population swells to 1500 with cottage owners and campers. The department requested $18,000 for a new Jaws of Life. The old one was donated in 1996 by a family after a traffic accident where this equipment was needed and not available but it is currently broken and not repairable. Besides that, the technology is much better now so they will be receiving a brand new Hurst Jaws of Life Combi Rescue Tool.

I called Fire Chief Chad Buist to share the good news that they are receiving the largest grant from this group for the Jaw of Life. “Fantastic! I am so excited,” he said, “I can’t thank you enough. Our department is all volunteer and to the people who are giving everything just to help the community, this will mean a lot to them.”

Chad is the Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services and volunteers his time as the Fire Chief. He also told me that the family that donated the first Jaws of Life recently moved back to the area and this will mean a lot to them. They lost their son in the accident and I am honored to pick up where they left off in helping the community. I am especially honored and blessed to be able to make this particular grant the the Watten Fire Department.

July 17, 2019

Here’s a nice article from the Fort Frances Times.

Click here to read.

Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nations is a proud and progressive Algonquin community situated on the shores of the Bonnechere River and Golden Lake in Renfrew County. They applied for funds to purchase 12 sets of new bunker gear to protect their volunteer firefighters.  Their current gear in outdated and unsafe and none of what they have will fit any of the women volunteers.

They applied for $23,500 and were awarded $15,000 so we could share more funds with other departments. As always, we are overwhelmed with applications and want to help as many as possible. With this grant they will be able to purchase eight new sets of bunker gear. I personally called Angelina Commanda, the administrative assistant, public works, to share the good news.

High visibility lightweight coveralls are what is needed at Puslinch Fire & Rescue. They requested funds to purchase new coveralls to keep their 42 firefighters safe. Their request was for $14,000 but due to the high number (again) of applications we decided to offer $10,000 and share other funds with more departments that need safety equipment.

Deputy Chief Brad Churchill was thrilled when I called him with the news that they would be able to provide at least 30 coveralls for the department. “Providing coveralls for the entire staff was a wish list but I am over the moon with being able to buy 30 for another level of protection,” he said. He also said he was a fan of my show and used to watch me as a kid with his mother.

I forgot to tell him it was actually me calling so it was even more fun after I told him. I’m happy to help all the firefighters in Puslinch stay safe.

Sept. 4, 2019: Here is a nice story from the Wellington Advertiser: https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/jennys-heroes-funding-means-new-firefighters-gear/

Feb. 19, 2020: 

Puslinch firefighters show off the new bunker gear the department was able to purchase. Here is the story than ran with this photo in the Wellington Advertiser today: https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/puslinch-fire-and-rescue-grateful-for-jennys-heroes-support/

Silver

Silver Water is located on the western end of Manitoulin Island with a small population of about 100 residents, which triples in the summer with seasonal visitors.  They requested $5,000 to purchase a used water tender from a nearby fire department. The 1999 GMC is in excellent condition, having been well cared for, and represents an amazing value at $5,000. The new truck will replace the current one that’s 30 years old so parts are no longer available. The newer truck will be easy to maintain and safer to drive with heavy duty suspension.

I called Firefighter Tim MacInlay with the news that he would be receiving the funds for the truck and he was really happy, saying it was frustrating trying to find parts for the old one. “This is the smallest department operating on a shoe string budget,” he said, “and it is 100% volunteer.”

It turns out that Tim and his wife both lived and worked in my hometown of London. He was a machinist and she ran the library at Huron College. Once they went sailing up in the north channel they loved it so much, they decided to retire there. I can’t think of a better way to spend your time in retirement than to serve your community. Congratulations to Tim and his fellow volunteers.

UPDATE: Jan. 18, 2020 – Here is the new truck!

Here is an article from the Manitoulin Expositor:

https://www.manitoulin.ca/robinson-township-fire-department-purchases-fire-truck-from-brock-township/

This is what a portable scene light looks like and the Perry Township Fire Department has requested $4,000 to purchase two of these to bring light to emergencies that occur at night. These lights use LED technology and have a narrow footprint with an 84-inch extension pole so it can fit wide and narrow space and can be set up in 30 seconds.

I called Chief an Marshall with the news that they would be getting their new portable lights.

This was a group application covering four departments led by Goulais Fire and Rescue. The departments were founded in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and many fires saw the locals band together to form fire brigades. Funding originated through yard sales, fire wood raffles, and bingo. Fire halls were eventually built and fire trucks were pieced together from retired oil tankers and school busses.

First settled in the late 1800’s with farms, mills and mines, the communities are now mostly rural residential areas with a few small businesses and tourist attractions.

The radio repeater and associated equipment will allow for long distance communications from their dispatch center in Sault Ste. Marie as far as 100 kilometers away and would replace their current equipment that is over 25 years old. The old repeater recently failed and took two days to repair because parts are vintage and hard to find.

The new repeater will have an immediate impact on the many challenges faced by these departments including medical and fire responses, road and rail emergencies, off road search and rescues, and forest fires.

I called Deputy Chief Kris Rooley to share the news about the grant and he told me how vital this repeater is to the departments because it acts as a relay to alert responders quickly to an emergency. “This is a crucial piece of equipment,” he said, ” and it’s almost more important than the trucks.” He said if a 9-1-1 life or death call comes in and the repeater is not working they may not be able to respond in time.

The team has received their new repeater and sent in this photo…

The Powassan Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1950. In 2001 the towns of Powasson and Trout Creek, along with the Township of South Himsworth amalgamated along with their fire departments. They now have two stations serving their combined communities.

These volunteers serve a road network of over 100 km and they currently deal with vehicle collisions, extractions, and roll-overs without any stabilization struts, forcing them to use winches or lumber which is not ideal. The new stabilization kit will allow the team to make safer extractions without worrying about vehicles rolling over and causing injury.

I called Fire Chief Bill Cox with the good news and he painted a visual picture of what the volunteers have to do without a stabilization kit. “We have to put 8 or 9 fireman in there to hold the vehicle in place,” he said. He explained that vehicles on their side, usually in a ditch, can easily fall onto the wheels or on the roof, and people can get hurt if that happens.

Chief Cox thanked me for helping the smaller municipalities that can’t always obtain the equipment they need. That’s why I’m here.

The all volunteer members of the Lucknow Fire Department serve not only their community but also a number of other smaller communities in its rural territory. Lucknow is also the home town of hockey great Paul Henderson.

The Lucknow community has no ambulance so this new equipment will help tremendously. The new defibrillator they are receiving will replace their old one purchased 17 years ago, which will then be used as a backup. AEDs are vital during a heart attack. In this community where everyone knows everyone, chances are they will be administering CPR or defibrillation on a friend or family member. One of their firefighters had a heart attack during training and his life was saved because quick CPR and a defibrillator were used.

The new thermal imaging cameras are light and compact and will make it safer for the volunteers to enter a structure with poor visibility so they can scan a room without going in blind.  They will  help in locating fires more quickly and can also be used to find hot spots in walls without unnecessary damage.

I called firefighter Jeff Pollard to let him know they would be receiving their new equipment. He said that thermal imaging cameras are an invaluable tool and said he was very appreciative for the grant.

The team has received their new equipment and sent in this photo…

The volunteers of the East Ferris Fire Department serve approximately 5,000 people in their community for a variety of emergencies including fires, carbon monoxide exposure, collisions, medical assistance, and more. Here is a photo of the team…

The new gas detectors will help protect the responders from hazardous oxygen deficient situations such as carbon monoxide and alert them to dangerous levels of CO and fuel vapor which can cause explosions. Carbon monoxide can be emitted from fuel burning appliances and many local residents rely on propane or fuel oil to heat their homes.

I called Chief Frank Loeffen, who was very happy to be receiving this grant. He explained that when responding to a carbon monoxide call or when someone has difficulty breathing they don’t know what they are walking into. A working gas detector will keep the firefighters safe so they can help those in need as they enter into unknown environments.

The team was kind enough to send all these photos of their new equipment…