Donation helps rural fire department

What goes around comes around; Blackfoot Fire and Rescue knows that firsthand after a recent donation.

The Lloydminster Lion's Club recently needed assistance with an event, and the department stepped up to the plate.

"We are all about community in our club," said Lion's vice president Darryl Oster. "In this case, we needed help with a medieval feast, and they came out to help by providing a safe ride home."

They look for every opportunity to keep money raised in the community. This was an opportunity to help an organization that has specific needs that help protect our community.

Austin Armitage is the County of Vermilion River Protective Services operations officer. He says any money raised goes right back into the department.

"It's important because it helps with operational costs that every fire department struggles to cover. It doesn’t matter the size of the donation—it goes toward simple things like balaclavas, gloves, and boots," said Armitage. "Those things take a lot of wear and tear, so they’re always up for replacement."

However, he wanted to stress departments don't expect donations for services rendered.

"A lot of the time, fire departments do things like that without even asking for a donation—they’ll just do it to get their name out there and build goodwill," said Armitage. "That way, if they ever need help in the future, the community will be there for them. Having a baseline of community support is huge for volunteer fire departments," he said.

According to Regional Chief Dean Peters, Legacy doesn't do much fundraising for equipment, thanks to a supportive council. However, the community does support Legacy in various ways.

"We applied for and got some corporate sponsorship from Cenovus, and we received funding for a Side-by-side in 2023," said Peters. "Cenovus also supports their employees who volunteer, so we have used that money to upgrade laundry facilities in our halls." 

When they get a public donation, they deal with it on a case-by-case basis. They have used them to by AED's in the past.

If you are interested in supporting the local departments surrounding Lloydminster, you can contact the municipal offices for Vermilion River, Brittania, or Legacy.

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