Councillors from Kamloops, Tk’emlups meet at fire rescue training

KAMLOOPS – Local politicians worked up a sweat with Kamloops Fire Rescue personnel today.

Members of the Kamloops and the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc councils joined together at the fire training centre today, March 14, to see first hand what firefighters do.

The councillors watched as firefighters demonstrated tools for extracting a person from a car crash, and then joined the rescue team in a pair of drills in smokey buildings.

Mayor Peter Milobar and city councillors Tina Lange and Donovan Cavers were joined by Tk'emlups councillors Katy Gottfriedson, Howard Campbell, Eagle Casimir and Tacoma George in simulated smoke and fire drills.

Tk’emlups chief Fred Seymour says it’s a good team building exercise for the two councils and rescue team.

“Our new council gets to see the full in-depth of what fire rescue is all about,” Seymour says.

The fire rescue drills were a precursor to a council-to-council meeting between Kamloops and Tk'emlups. Seymour says the meetings are a way for councillors to discuss working together and common issues.

“I look forward to these types of meetings. We have so much in common,” he says. “We have to work together, make a better life for everyone. We’re just a stone’s throw away from the cross rivers.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin at bkergin@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.