Grand Forks Fire/Rescue is staging another recruitment drive at the North Fork’s George Evans firehall on Wednesday, May 26.
The firehall at 11331 Granby Rd is at risk of closing due to a shortage of volunteer members, the department said in a Facebook message to area residents.
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Fire Chief George Seigler said there are six volunteers on the firehall’s roster, while another department member has been helping out at the station. Firehalls should have at least 15 members, according to best practices recommended by the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS), which audits firehalls and provides statistical fire data used by Canadian insurance companies.
Dep. fire chiefs Stephane Dionne and Rich Piché said they’d hoped to see around 10 interested prospects at the fire hall’s last recruitment drive on May 11. One man showed up, Dionne said.
Seigler stressed that the department isn’t planning on shuttering the firehall anytime soon, especially after four North Fork residents have since expressed interest in joining.
Seigler qualified that the FUS could downgrade the firehall to an “unprotected status” if there were less than 1o members on the roster over the coming months.
The FUS will always work to keep struggling firehalls open, president Michael Currie told The Gazette last week. But area home insurance premiums would very likely go up if the North Fork were to lose its fire protection status, he noted.
Seigler is meanwhile encouraging North Fork residents to realize their potential.
“Believe in yourselves and your abilities: We’ll build on that by training you to help keep your community safe,” he said.
Interested residents are asked to pre-register for next Wednesday’s open house either by calling the department’s non-emergency line at 250-442-3612 or through their new website at grandforksfirerescue.com.
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