The Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay Fire Department has been in operation since 1960 and has provided emergency and fire service to the residents of Happy Valley – Goose Bay and the surrounding area on a continuous basis since then.
The current fire department is situated on Hamilton River Road and has been at this location since the early 1980’s. They operate out of one facility with two fire/pumper trucks, two rescue trucks, and three service vehicles (two utility trucks and a command unit). The Department also has six full time staff, a fire chief, a fire protection officer and four full time firefighters. They operate with a dedicated group of more than forty volunteer firefighters.
Their main rescue truck serves the approximately 7500 residents of the Town of Happy Valley – Goose Bay, providing fire and emergency services as well as mutual aid pieces to the residents of North West River and Sheshatshiu. They operate life saving equipment on the various highways in the area – Route 520 to North West River and Sheshatshiu, Route 510 to the South Coast of Labrador as well as Route 500 to Cache River, halfway to Churchill Falls.
There is always the opportunity to upgrade extrication equipment with any fire department and the Town of Happy Valley – Goose Bay Fire Department is in the process of doing just that. The hydraulic extrication tools of the past are slowly being replaced with battery operated tools. They have started this process and have added another tool to their inventory. With the grant awarded by the IGA, the tool added to the existing inventory on their main rescue truck is a rapid intervention e-force tool and the associated tips that go along with it.
With this new equipment, the Department can not only extricate a member of the traveling public out of a motor vehicle accident, but are able to gain quick entry to a building or even help extricate a downed firefighter if that were to ever happen. This tool can breach vehicles, building doors and windows as well as interior walls, etc. if needed. The tool can be operated by one firefighter quickly and efficiently in case of an emergency and wouldn’t involve the multiple firefighters needed before to operate the old hydraulic type of extrication system.
While the tool has been used in training scenarios and has worked very well, it has not been used in a real-life situation yet. They have completed six training sessions for the volunteer firefighters with the tool.
The IGA is very pleased to have contributed towards this initiative, and thanks members of the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Fire Department for their commitment to keeping the community safe!
