No Jaws of Life without Corner Brook's help worries Lark Harbour fire chief
The City of Corner Brook decided to limit assistance offered by its fire department to calls outside the city's limits, but Lark Harbour's fire chief worries about a lack of experience and equipment without their help.
Fire Chief Paul MacDonald says the Lark Harbour-York Harbour Volunteer Fire Department has long relied on response from Corner Brook to assist in emergencies, especially motor vehicle collisions that require use of the Jaws of Life.
Corner Brook has a Jaws of Life, but won't be able to respond to calls outside the city until an out-of-service fire pumper is replaced.
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MacDonald said his volunteer fire department can't afford to purchase one, and that's a problem for possible future collisions.
"Right now we're in a pretty hard predicament," he said.
"Bennett's Cove South Shore Fire Department just had an accident last week, we had one just before the new year which the Jaws of Life were required, and for us not to have this piece of equipment available to us puts us in a very, very difficult spot."
Just not equipped
According to MacDonald, Corner Brook has provided assistance with calls to the fire department since he started as a firefighter in 1984.
Just knowing that Corner Brook is not available there, it leaves you a little bit iffy.- Paul MacDonald
This change means there will be a loss of experienced firefighters responding to emergencies in his region.
"They are a professional fire department, but we are not. We're just a volunteer organization with a few members. Some are equipped to fight a fire, some are not, some are just new — and when it comes to a motor vehicle accidents we pretty much have no one equipped to deal with this situation," he said.
"Just knowing that Corner Brook is not available there, it leaves you a little bit iffy, you know? Leaves you a little bit scared of what could happen."
MacDonald said his fire department has been in talks with the South Shore Volunteer Fire Department, discussing the two departments coming together to invest in a shared Jaws of Life.
Doesn't come cheap
However, even with cash coming from two different fire departments, the price tag is steep.
MacDonald said a refurbished Jaws of Life could cost between $8,000 and $12,000, but would come with some worries about the equipment's life span, since it would be previously used.
A brand new Jaws of Life would cost at least $14,000, with an added cost of buying a generator to operate it.
The price is high, but MacDonald said it may be a necessary investment.
"We've got to try to do something because between South Shore and Lark Harbour is a very dangerous stretch of road, there's a lot of turns, a lot of hills, there's been avalanches in the past actually just this winter," he said.
