The Elbow and Loreburn volunteer fire departments have benefited from the province’s recently announcement Targeted Sector Support (TSS) Initiative.  

The fire department was granted $11,880 that will go towards additional training for their firefighters.  

Volunteer Fire Chief, Tyler Gifford says that this additional training is needed as per the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and Saskatchewan Volunteer Fire Fighters Association (SVFFA). 

“We’re applying to be a defensive level fire department for those minimum standards. We’ve taken SCBA [Self-contained breathing apparatus] training, a level 1 fire fighter course with the SVFFA, and in March we’re going to taking a wildland firefighting course.” 

In addition, later this year the fire department will take a vehicle extraction course, which will be covered by SGI.  

The EVFD is one of 15 municipal projects that received funding from the Saskatchewan government. In total, the province invested more than $500,000 to those 15 projects.

This additional training will be essential for the EVFD to allow for a sense of security to residents in that area.  

“We’re having a lot of support from the community both in Loreburn, Elbow and the surrounding RMs. Everyone seems to be really on board. They are getting the big picture of relying on us and we’ll be there if something happens.” 

Gifford who recently took over the role as fire chief, decided last year that it was time to bulk up the team’s training regimen.  

“We didn’t have a training budget for that. We got that established with the Village of Elbow. Our administrator found this grant application to apply to. I gave her all of the courses that I wanted to take and then we were approved.” 

Gifford says that the grant with cover about 75 per cent of the final cost of the training courses the fire department will be taking to meet the minimum standards set forth by the SPSA.  

This training will go a long ways to supporting the community and area, as additional resources are a far distance away.  

He wanted to say thank you to the volunteer firefighters in the area, and the Village of Elbow. In addition, he wanted to show some gratitude for the Moose Jaw Fire Department as they have donated some used fire suits, SCBA masks, and tools to the EVFD over the years.  

Elbow is located 121 kilometres northwest of Moose Jaw, with Loreburn around 132 kilometres from the city.