THUNDER BAY - As three pre-service firefighting students were carpooling to class last February, they noticed smoke coming from the garage of a Porcupine Boulevard residence. Without thinking, their training took over, and their actions that morning potentially saved the lives of three people.
“The adrenaline kicked in,” said Taya Stamler. “You know what to do because the knowledge was in our head. It was very smoky inside. It was hard to breathe. We weren’t equipped we didn’t have any protection on, which is not good. But you do what you have to do.”
Stamler, along with Riley Tucker and Devon Wanakamik, who graduated from the pre-service firefighter education and training program at Confederation College last year, were honoured with an award from the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and Emergency Manage for their heroism that morning.
The fire took place on Feb. 1 at a Porcupine Boulevard residence. Tucker recalled noticing smoke coming from the garage and the three stopped and began pounding on the door.
A man answered and he was informed his garage was on fire.
“It was like a race against time to get him out because he wanted to put it out with buckets of water,” Tucker said.
When the door between the house and the garage was opened, smoke began pouring into the residence. It was then that the three students noticed a second man in the home carrying a baby. All three residents were taken outside and Thunder Bay Fire Rescue was called to the scene.
Just a month before the fire, the students had learned about how to read smoke, which is why they sprung into action.
“We knew how the smoke was pluming out of the garage that it was high volume on the inside and it was hot because it was black,” Stamler said. “You could just tell. We had learned in school about reading smoke.”
“We’ve learned how to read smoke prior to that event so we knew exactly what was going on,” Wanakamik added. “The attached garage was starting to get filled with smoke and was exiting the structure at a high velocity, very dense smoke, so we knew it was ready to ignite soon.”
Shane Strickland, dean of the School of Health, Negahneewin, and Community Services at Confederation College, said the actions of the three students demonstrates how the lessons taught in the pre-service firefighter program are put into practice.
“They exemplify exactly what the program stands for and what we want to see in our graduates,” he said. “So we were quite pleased the Office of the Fire Marshal is honouring them today.”
“We pride ourselves at Confederation College for having a high quality pre-service firefighter program and the students exemplify their role that they will be playing both in their future careers but also why they are in the program.”
The pre-service firefighter program is taught by former firefighters and Strickland said students are trained with on-site practice and repetition through experiential learning, including training with live fires and rescues.
“Reinforcing those practices it becomes part of their muscle memory and they just respond,” he said.
Stamler, Tucker, and Wanakamik said they all enjoyed the program and took away valuable lessons that they were able to put into practice and prevent a potentially deadly situation.
All three plan to pursue firefighting as a career, and just like all other firefighters, when it comes to saving lives and stepping into danger, it’s just part of the job and doesn’t necessarily warrant any extra recognition.
“We all feel very honoured,” Stamler said. “We weren’t expecting it. It was just a first reaction. We weren’t expecting to have all this for us and it’s really nice, but we are just glad everyone is safe.”
“I didn’t think it was going to happen because I didn’t feel like it needed because it was just something we were trained to do,” Tucker added. “But it’s nice to realize that it’s a bigger deal than what we thought it was.”
“It was a good thing that I’ve done. I don’t feel any different,” Wanakamik said. “I know I did a good thing. I felt like I was there at the right time.”