Over the weekend, the Dauphin and Pine River Fire Departments set up near Vermillion Park in Dauphin, to conduct some training on traffic control measures.
Cam Abrey, Dauphin Fire Chief, said training like this helps firefighters work on their skills when it comes to being in one of the most dangerous, and most common, situations firefighters will find themselves in.
"One of the most dangerous places that anybody can work, whether you're police, fire, EMS, what have you, is on the highway, because you can never predict what the other drivers are doing...it's any time that we're working on the roadway, so if we have a fire out in the rural [municipality] and we're parked on the highway, or on a gravel road or anything like that, we have to set up these control zones as well, to make sure that our pump operator is safe," said Abrey.
Both the Dauphin and Pine River Fire Departments are a part of the Riding Mountain Mutual Aid District - meaning if one of the departments is in need of help, they can put out a call to the other departments in the district. Abrey said having connected training like over the weekend helps to improve relations and communication.
"For ourselves, our first call-in for any major incidents that we might have would be requesting Gilbert Plains and Ochre River to assist us, but it doesn't mean that we wouldn't travel up to Pine River, we've been to Ste. Rose and Ethelbert," said Abrey.
Traffic Control Zones are something you'll see at any Dauphin Fire Department response. Abrey has one message for drivers who are in the area of a fire - pay attention.
"If you see any emergency vehicles approaching, and that's coming towards you, please slow down, pull over to the side, allow those emergency vehicles to pass safely, whether they're passing around you or you're meeting them," said Abrey.
From January 1st to July 31st of this year, the Dauphin Fire Department responded to 33 calls for motor vehicles collisions, making up 19% of their total responses.
