Fort William gears up for additional emergency response services – Anishinabek News
August 5, 2021
FORT WILLIAM — Fort William fire prevention officer William Solomon is focusing on fire safety education and identification of hazards in the home as the community works to establish its own fire department.
“The first line of defence in fire safety is knowledge,” says Solomon, a graduate of Confederation College’s Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program. “That’s what I’ve been instilling until we get our fire department up and running — I started off with our Elders because some of them don’t have people in their lives that can help them make sure their homes are safe.”
Solomon says the community has already received two fire trucks, a pumper and a tanker, from Firefighters Without Borders.
“Once we get our funding sources approved, we will have a building up — that’s where we can start training our [citizens],” Solomon says. “Once we have our [citizens] trained, that’s when we will start responding to emergencies in the community.”
