On October 29, Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC) and the Emergency Services Training Centre (ESTC) in Blyth, Ontario launched two new national propane and flammable liquids emergency training programs: Propane and Flammable Liquids Emergencies (Level One) and Propane Fire and Emergencies (Level Two).

 

On April 1, 2015, as part of a restructuring plan, Ontario’s Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA) announced that it would be discontinuing several of its training offerings, including propane training to first responders. Two of the programs affected were the Hydrocarbons Awareness and Propane Emergencies Level II programs.

 

Shortly after this announcement, the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC) reached out to the Canadian Propane Association (CPA) to find a solution to the sudden lack of propane fire training in Ontario. By May, the two organizations had reached a memorandum of understanding that would see ERAC, a division of the CPA, provide this training to firefighters across Ontario. 

 

Throughout this process, all organizations involved worked with the ESTC for guidance and direction, as well as curriculum and portable fire prop development. As the new program was being developed, ERAC also found there was a need for awareness level flammable liquids training across Canada, and used their expertise to incorporate this into the curriculum. 

While the pilot program was offered to a class of students from Ontario, the CPA, ERAC and the ESTC look forward to offering it to emergency services from across Canada.

For more information, please contact David Sparling, Principal of the Emergency Services Training Centre, at dsparling@fdnh.ca or 226.523.9500 ext. 204.