The Lacombe Fire Department says changes last year to its 2016 training program have been a success.
 
Last night City Council heard from Deputy Fire Chief Drayton Bussiere, who said out of the 33 current members, 28 are NFPA 1001 Level 1 certified and 23 are Level 2 certified, more than double the amount in 2015.
 
Bussier added with the transition to a different delivery model for its National Fire Protection Association, he gives credit to all the members for their hard work.

“They really are the ones that have put in the time to come to a lot of training and are going to continue to have to come to a lot of training in years to come as we continue to deliver this program," Bussier said.

"For us, it’s awesome, the higher the number of trained members we can have on the fire department at any given time is better for us as a department to remain safe and for the services we can provide to the community."

Bussier explained that many of the concerns with the transition including increased fail rates, over working new members and having members move on quickly after they complete their training have not come to fruition.
 
The only changes made by council were the approval of the timing of payments from three years to one year to eliminate administrative challenges.