From the Editor…
The announcement earlier this year of a Fire Prevention Officer (FPO) Mentorship Program between 11 Ontario fire departments and the Cree Nations communities of Northern Quebec is a welcome one.
We should all hope for its success, and that it will expand, translate into larger programs of its kind, and become a trend toward greater cooperation between fire departments and Indigenous communities across Canada.
In our last issue, we published some research conducted by the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC), an organization created by the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada with the formation of the first NIFSC Board of Directors on April 1, 2022. The mission of the NIFSC is to eliminate “…the loss of life and property from all fire-related and mitigatable threats in Indigenous communities.” That research, and more, paints a picture of need for improved fire and life safety practices in Indigenous communities across Canada.
Improving fire and life safety practices requires resources – and money.
This program is a step forward in resource development through resource sharing. It’s a great start.
As for money, that requires ongoing advocacy, which I’m confident is taking place, and it requires governments, primarily provincial and federal, to ‘step up’, which, I’m thinking could be better.
We look forward to learning more about this program, and similar programs across Canada. We look forward to learning about how more and other fire departments, perhaps through their provincial fire chief associations, are working with their local governments and Indigenous communities to negotiate similar programs. We will be reporting on them.
Fire doesn’t care whose life it takes, or whose home it destroys – the caring belongs to us.
This program, and others like it, are outstanding examples of one of the finest traditions of our service – – the tradition of caring.
Just a thought.
