October 2022 Community Newsletter: Getting to know the Redwood Meadows Emergency Services team better!
Summer is always a busy time in the greater Bragg Creek area and this year was no different! We thought we would take an opportunity to answer “commonly asked questions” we receive when we’re out and about.
Who’s in the big red trucks we see around town or going to emergencies?
RMES is staffed by approximately 30 volunteer firefighters that live in the community or neighbouring communities such as Calgary and Cochrane.
How many calls do you do annually?
In a typical year, we respond to almost 400 calls. At time of writing, we have responded to over 270 calls for assistance in 2022 – that’s more than 1 call a day!
About 50% of our calls are medical, in partnership with AHS EMS, about 25% are rescue (motor vehicle collisions, recreational accidents, etc.) and less than 20% are fires.
How do you choose who to hire to work at RMES?
We have a Recruitment Strategy that we follow to ensure we have a suitable number of members to respond to calls in a certain amount of time and properly staff the trucks responding. It’s important that our department reflects the diverse community we serve, so we actively recruit to strengthen our team with members with different life/professional experience, culture, gender and orientations. Applicants must submit a detailed application and are invited to audit two of our training nights to get to know the team and the kind of work we do. From there, they may be asked to participate in an interview with our Recruitment Team and may be offered employment with the team.
What kind of hours do the volunteer staff at RMES put in?
In 2021, RMES members invested over 14,000 volunteer hours in the community. They’re on track to invest even more hours in 2022!
We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Each member is asked to attend a minimum of two Tuesday training nights each month (7:30pm – 10:30pm) plus additional external training opportunities, 2 weekend duty shifts a month (8am – 8pm), attend as many calls as possible as well as community events (Canada Day Parade, Bragg Creek Days Parade and Pancake Breakfast, Burn Camp, Halloween Haunted House, School visits, FireSmart Assessments, safety patrols etc). Some members contribute additional volunteer hours to do Administration, Newsletter Submissions, Vehicle Maintenance, Recruitment, Radio Programming/Maintenance etc.
Do RMES members get paid?
RMES members receive a small honorarium annually based on hours of service (# of calls attended, # of hours spent in training/attending community events). The greatest gift our members receive is the community’s thanks for a job well done.
Until next month, stay safe!
Thank you for supporting wildlife conservation,
Alison Archambault
Director, Brand & Engagement
