Lloydminster Rescue Squad, deputy chief, Ryan Leblanc, left, and chief, Norm Namur, launched a fundraising campaign for a new 3/4 ton truck during a presentation to the Rotary Club of Lloydminster Monday lunch. The squad has applied for a $75,000 Rotary Legacy Community Project grant, hoping to cover most of the $100,000 funding goal. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
The Lloydminster Rescue Squad hopes they’ve kicked off their fundraising campaign for a new 3/4 ton truck at the right time and place.
Rescue squad chief Norm Namur and deputy chief, Ryan Leblanc have their fingers crossed to land a $75,000 Legacy Community Project grant from the Rotary Club of Lloydminster with the application deadline on March 31.
“I just want to thank the Rotary Club for the Legacy project fund being open to the community again,” said Namur during an update at the club’s Monday lunch.
The rescue squad’s goal is to raise just over $100,000 to purchase a new Ford F-250 truck to tow some of their heavier boats.
That includes the Avatar airboat they purchased last year thanks to a $100,000 donation from Cenovus and their 22-ft. Kingfisher water rescue boat acquired in 2021.
“Our underwater rescue boat is a little bit big for the half-ton. We’re going to utilize it to tow those and also for a secondary rapid response vehicle,” explained Leblanc.
The fundraising goal will cover the cost of all the equipment that goes into the truck including the lighting and decals.
“We’re kicking it off today with this presentation to Rotary. We put our Legacy project application in,” said Leblanc.
“We’re excited. We’re hoping we’re successful. It will be a good purchase to add to our fleet to tow these things.”
Namur told Rotary, it’s always a joy to bring the club up to date with the equipment they’ve bought over the last few years while noting the squad will mark its 40th year of operation in October.
“I think back then we had jaws (of life) and a set of cutters,” he said.
“Now we do vehicle extrication, we have a drone program, underwater recovery equipment and two airboats.”
Namur says the squad has state-of-the-art equipment and needs a new truck since they’ve been using Leblanc’s personal truck to haul boats.
They have also identified a need to upgrade some of their tools to battery-operated tools.
“It gives us that portability. They’re fast,” said Namur, adding the downside is they are heavy.
Namur says their primary area for vehicle extrication is the RM of Britannia, which pays them $40,000 for the service.
The squad also has vehicle rescue service agreements with the City of Lloydminster, the County of Vermilion River and Onion Lake Cree Nation.
“For other services like drones and water rescue we’ve gone all over western Canada,” explained Namur, noting they fundraise for those, so they don’t have to charge families.
“If it’s through the RCMP, we’ll invoice them,” he said.
Namur says one of their challenges is recruiting young people who may not be able to deal with the shock and trauma of rescue work.
“They don’t want to see what we see. We’re working on that as a team, how do we attract the young generation,” said Namur.
