December 4 marked a special occasion for Niverville’s Fire and Emergency Services department. The team gathered at the local fire hall to accept a major donation in the form of the newest addition to their fleet: a 2010 Chevy Silverado. Five employees from TransCanada Pipeline were there to hand over the keys and congratulate Niverville’s emergency personnel.
The donation was a part of TransCanada’s fleet retirement program. Steve Loney, the company’s Community Relations Director, says TransCanada has always given priority to emergency response organizations when it comes time to retire their vehicles, recognizing the important role these organizations play in the welfare of communities.
“We’ve been doing this informally since I’ve been on the job for the last ten years,” says Loney. “This program is somewhat unique to Manitoba.”
By the time the vehicle arrived at the fire hall, it had already been retrofitted with Niverville Fire and Emergency Services decals, a lightbar package, additional lights on the front and back, a laptop-mounting system inside the cab, a siren, and an amplifier.
“We paid a supplier to put on a basic lighting package, but when they found out we were donating it to Niverville they upgraded it at no extra charge and included some extra equipment,” Loney says. “Because they’re [in the business of] updating career fire departments… PRO Upfitters from Winnipeg put in the laptop accessory, put in the siren, [and] put in the PA system.”
On top of that, Urban Tactical of Winnipeg donated a bag of emergency response supplies.
The idea for the donation to Niverville began with a conversation between neighbours Shaun Macsymic, a TransCanada employee, and Nathan Dueck, Niverville town councillor. Just weeks later, the vehicle is now proudly commissioned for Niverville’s Fire and Emergency Services department.
“We know that TransCanada has been very active in our community in the last few years and we’ve been very appreciative of the relationship that we have,” said Mayor Myron Dyck to the gathered group. “A special thank you to Shaun… for taking interest in the community and for looking to do this to help better our community.”
Fire Chief Keith Bueckert couldn’t be more pleased with the donation. He says a vehicle like this has long been on the team’s wish list and will come in handy in their day-to-day operations of attending fire inspections and meetings, as well as its use as a transport carrier and clean-up receptacle at fire scenes. Having an extra vehicle like this means fewer personal member vehicles will need to be taken out on calls.
In addition to the donated pickup, Bueckert anticipates the arrival of a Rescue 1 vehicle in 2019 to round out the fleet.
“We’ll be able to safely transport over 25 members now to the scene,” Bueckert says. “With this being brought in and having the Suburban, it just adds to our fleet because we’re growing with the community.”