Hey there!  We recently concluded the BPFFA MD Boot Drive and initial reports indicate approximately $46,000!  Excellent work by everyone!  Glad to see some familiar and new faces out at the locations throughout the city.  

RS Rescue has once again sponsored the Pink Truck Campaign.  We are currently looking for volunteers for our upcoming 2018 Brampton Breast Cancer Campaign.  There are a ton of dates currently scheduled listed below.  Will be a great opportunity to introduce yourself to some Brampton Fire staff that will be participating as well in these events!

This year the proceeds go to Wellspring Chingacousy Centre, a fantastic local support centre for cancer patients and their families.

As always, the BPFFA will provide a letter of reference for your volunteer time to add to your resume.  If you can help, please get a hold of my bud, Chris Vanderburg, who is co-ordinating the volunteers.  Any time you can contribute would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks all, stay safe and chat soon!  J  

 

September 23, 2018	Sun – B	Big Walk for Cancer Support	Campaign Launch – Annual fundraiser organized by Wellspring Chingaucousy – Chingaucousy Park – Location – parking lot beside FLSE building	8am till 12:30am	Volunteers Needed
September 29, 2018	Sat – B	Brampton Tough Run	Chingacousy Park – Set up will be in the parking lot by the curling rink.	9:30am – 1pm	Volunteers Needed
September 30, 2018	Sun – C	CIBC Run for the Cure	Powerade Centre will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration. – booth outside	8:30 am – sharp till 12pm	Volunteers Needed
September 30, 2018	Sun – C	Brampton Beast Fan Fest	Powerade Centre will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration. – move booth inside	1pm to 6pm	Volunteers Needed
October 2, 2018	Tue – B	Gino Vanelli Concert	Rose Theatre – Set up table inside – see front of house manager for details – doors open at 7pm for the public	6:45pm – 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 4, 2018	Thurs – D	Flag Raising at City Hall	Flag Raising at City Hall. On Duty crew will have the Pink Truck there for this ceremony. Park in front of City Hall,	10:30 am till 12pm	On Duty Crew
October 4, 2018	Thurs – D	Mount Pleasant Village Market	Mount Pleasant Village Square	3:30pm-8pm – event starts at 4pm	Volunteers Needed
October 6, 2018	Sat – C	Farmer’s Market-Downtown Brampton	Farmer’s Market- Last one for 2018. We will have a booth set up for Fire Prevention Week (FPW)	8am till 9:30am	Volunteers Needed
October 6, 2018	Sat – C	Station 204 – Open House	Fire Prevention Week (FPW) Open House and celebration of the re-opening of station 204	10am till 1pm	On Duty Crew
October 10, 2018	Wed – A	Sponsor BBQ @ FLSE	Sponsor BBQ @ FLSE	11am till 1:30pm	On Duty Crew
October 12, 2018	Fri – D	“Coffee with Firefighters” McDonald’s	2450 Queen St – FPW Event NOTE: This is a province wide event.  Over 100 departments will be participating	10 am till 12 pm	On Duty Crew
October 12, 2018	Fri – D	Bramalea City Centre	Bramalea City Centre- We will be set up inside the mall with a booth selling the pink shirts. The Pink truck will be attending at various times for the public to have a look and snap some photo’s.	1pm till 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 13, 2018	Sat – A	Bramalea City Centre	Bramalea City Centre- We will be set up inside the mall with a booth selling the pink shirts. The Pink truck will be attending at various times for the public to have a look and snap some photo’s.	10am till 6pm	Volunteers Needed
October 14, 2018	Sun – D	Bramalea City Centre	Bramalea City Centre- We will be set up inside the mall with a booth selling the pink shirts. The Pink truck will be attending at various times for the public to have a look and snap some photo’s.	10am till 6pm	Volunteers Needed
October 14, 2018	Sun – D	Fright Night-Greenbriar Rec. Centre	Greenbriar Rec Centre, we will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration.	6pm till 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 15, 2018	Mon – C	Brampton GO Station	Set up at the North Parking lot by the old train station building for morning rush hour.	6am to 9am	Volunteers Needed
October 17, 2018	Wed – D	Brampton GO Station	Set up at the North Parking lot by the old train station building for the evening rush hour.	3pm to 7pm	Volunteers Needed
October 19, 2018	Fri – B	Fright Night-Century Gardens Rec. Centre	Century Gardens Rec Centre, we will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration.	6pm till 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 20, 2018	Sat – D	Dennis Deyoung Concert	Rose Theatre – Set up table inside – see front of house manager for details – doors open at 7pm for the public	6:45pm – 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 20, 2018	Sat – D	Fright Night-Loafers Lake Rec. Centre	Loafers Lake Rec Centre, we will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration.	6pm till 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 21, 2018	Sun – B	Brampton Beast Game	Powerade Centre- We will be set up inside the arena with a booth selling the pink shirts. The Pink truck will be attending at various times for the public to have a look and snap some photo’s.	1pm till 5pm	Volunteers Needed
October 26, 2018	Fri – C	Fright Night-Gore Meadows Rec. Centre	Gore Meadows Rec Centre, we will have a booth set up to sell our pink shirts and the Pink Truck will be there for the entire duration.	6pm till 9pm	Volunteers Needed
October 27, 2018	Sat – B	Brampton Beast Game	Powerade Centre- We will be set up inside the arena with a booth selling the pink shirts. The Pink truck will be attending at various times for the public to have a look and snap some photo’s.	1pm till 5pm	Volunteers Needed
November 1, 2018	Tue – D	The Great Pumpkin Party	Garden Square	5pm-8pm	Volunteers Needed
November 16, 2018	Fri – B	Pink in the Rink Brampton Bombers	Memorial Arena	6pm till 10pm	Volunteers Needed
November 17, 2018	Sat – D	The Brampton Santa Claus Parade	The Pink Truck will be participating in the parade for the public all to see.	4pm till 8pm	Volunteers Needed
November 18, 2018	Sun – B	Pink in the Rink Brampton Bombers	Memorial Arena	4pm till 8pm	Volunteers Needed

The Scott FireFit GTA Regional Championship is returning to Oshawa, August 24 to 26,
2018.

The Scott FireFit GTA Regional Championship event has been so successful since
selecting Oshawa to host in 2016,2017, 2018 that Oshawa has  since been selected to
host the 2019 Scott FireFit National Championship. None of this success would be
possible without the continued support of our Volunteers.

Here is a snapshot of some of the key milestones from the 2016 and 2017 events that
we hosted: 

• Over 10,000 guests attended in 2016 and 2017.

• 2016 and 2017 events sold out prior to event dates with a waiting list.

• Over 700 competitors from 8 provinces participated in the competition.

• Over $25,000 was raised for the Firehouse Subs Foundation.

•  A total of $10,000 was awarded to the City of Oshawa’s Junior Firefighter
Program.

• Great feedback from families, sponsors, competitors , volunteers and community
partners.

• Equipment was donated to Oshawa Fire Services to help in community protection,
prevention and education, along with other fire departments across Durham Region.

•  An Automated External Defibrillator was donated to Peacock Lumber Ltd. in 2016.

The 2018 event is already creating a buzz in our community. Once again,
firefighters, guests and dignitaries from across the Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
and international countries will descend upon Oshawa to experience the first class
hospitality that the Oshawa FireFit event has become known for - but we cannot do it
without your support.  We are requesting your help to once again, showcase your
professionalism and enthusiasm to the hundreds of competitors and thousands of
guests that will be in attendance and to make this year's event even bigger and
better than before.

We will again require Volunteers for the following days:

Thursday August 23 - Morning - Set up 

Friday August 24 - Evening ( we are also hoping to have a team of volunteers compete
in the charity relay. details to follow.)

Saturday August 25 - All Day - Individual Races

Sunday August 26 - All Day - Relays, Tandems, Tear down 

We appreciate your time and consideration towards supporting our event again in
2018. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
Should you wish to be removed from further correspondence please let me know. 

Final Individual Event Race of 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0CSo3VQ8PQ

Kids Zone HIT of 2017: https://www.facebook.com/oshawafirefit/videos/858193731014594

Thank you,

Andrew McCuaig
Oshawa Firefit Event Committee - Volunteer Coordiantor
905 242 6648
andrewmccuaig5105@gmail.com

It has been officially announced that RS Rescue will be conducting the heavy rescue course for the August FFAO (Firefighter Association of Ontario) convention being held in Grand Valley, Ontario.  A whole bunch of awesome training courses being held that week (July 30-Aug4, 2018). Details on all the training courses can be found at www.ffao.on.ca , or by checking out their FB page here, or emailing the Grand Valley Fire Chief directly at kmcneilly@gvdfd.com.  Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about it.  

*Update* Second date, Aug 2, 2018 added as Aug 1 course has sold out!!!

We get asked quite often “How I should list technical rescue courses on my resume?”.  Without trying to deal with always and nevers, we normally suggest a format similar to this and we will explain why.  

Recommended format should be similar to this:

Company Name, NFPA standard (as on certificate), Discipline 

     Level achieved                                                         MM/YYYY

     Level achieved                                                         MM/YYYY

Example: 

RS Rescue, NFPA 1006, Vehicle Extrication

     Awareness Level                                                03/2016 or Mar/2016

     Operations Level                                               03/2016

*What ever your date format you decide, keep it the same throughout your resume.

If you are listing different technical rescue disciplines from the same company:

RS Rescue 

     NFPA 1006, Vehicle Extrication 

          Awareness Level                                             03/2016

          Operations Level                                            03/2016

     NFPA 1006, Machinery Rescue

          Awareness Level                                              11/2015

Question: “Should I list all my NFPA certificates or just the highest level achieved?”

Answer: If you have a certificate that is NFPA compliant, list it on your resume.  Some may assume that if you have a technician level certificate, that you have the awareness and operations level as well. Unless you can provide a certificate for all levels, you won’t receive the marks for it.

We have been told by several fire service reps over the years that listing the NFPA standard on your resume is very important.  Often times, an HR rep is reviewing your resume, and not a fire service rep.  These representatives will have a criteria to follow when scoring your resume.  Now you may know your certificate reads NFPA compliant, but unless you list it, you may not be receiving credit for it.  

I have personally received phone calls from senior fire service reps, from various fire departments, stating that the person they interviewed recently did not receive marks for courses they had taken.  One of those phone calls was in between candidate interviews.  This was because they did not do something as simple as mark down the NFPA standard on their resume.  Ultimately, the candidate could have received a higher resume score, and hence, an interview sooner.

Few recommend tips for your resume:

1. Don’t lie.  We know people…
2. Change your ridiculous email address
3. Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical issues
4. Identity accomplishments, not job descriptions

Make it easy for the rep who is reviewing it.  You should have a  standard format which will make it easy to read.  You want the person reviewing it to be able to read it, find the marks you have worked hard for, and allocate them accordingly to your resume.  Your resume should be a reflection of you.  The amount of time you spend on it will be apparent when it is reviewed.  Take the time to make your first impression a good one!