Manitouwadge firefighters held an appreciation night, honouring some long-serving members of their team.
Some of the awards were late in coming, due to COVID-19 pandemic delay.
Here’s a list of the awards handed out:
- Kelly Dorion: 30 Years of Service
- Randy Barnes: 25 Years of Service
- Ray Gascon: 13 Years of Service in Manitouwadge, and 12 Years Service with The Canadian Military
- Dan Martin: 20 Years of Service
- Rolly Smith: 20 Years of Service
- Gary Abbott: 20 Years of Service
- Ryan Abbott: 15 Years of Service
- James Lidster: 15 Years of Service
- Mario Herard: 10 Years of Service
- Mike Scapinello: 10 Years of Service
- Tiffany Lidster: 5 Years of Service
- Public Educator Award for 2022: Rolly Smith & James Lidster
The fire department also recently conducted a house number awareness drive. They patrolled the town one evening last week, looking for safety issues regarding the visibility of house numbers. These numbers are important in the case of emergencies; precious time can be lost looking for a missing number or a difficult to locate address. The house numbers should be three or more inches high, lit up if possible and a contrasting colour, so as to not blend in with the background. They also advised avoiding the placement of numbers within home décor items or in unusual places. During the inspection of approximately 920 homes, more than 10 percent either had no house number or the number was not visible.
In addition to fire safety, the Manitouwadge Fire Department is very proactive in making the public aware of other safety issues, such as food and product recalls and advice about pet and child safety.