Standing Buffalo gets own fire department

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There's another chief on the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation. But Chief Mel Isnana doesn't mind at all.

Isnana and about 50 band members spent a Friday afternoon watching seven other band members - Tim Yuzicappi, Dione Yuzicappi, Greg Yuzicappi, Aaron Yuzicappi, Trevelen Yuzicappi, Nadine Deegan and Nelson Goodwill- fight a structure fire on an abandoned house on the reserve.

This was their final exercise before graduating from a 160-hour course to become level one firefighters.

For their efforts, the seven have become charter members of the Standing Buffalo Fire Department.

For Standing Buffalo's new fire chief, it's a matter of personal pride and community responsibility.

"Earlier this spring I saw a fire in a house on the reserve that we could have handled," said Trevelen Yuzicappi. "But by the time the Fort [Qu'Appelle] fire department got here, the fire was too far gone."

Yuzicappi was one of several band members who signed up to take part in the firefighting course.

"I knew we were getting a fire truck, but none of us had the training," he added. "By the beginning of July we were getting our training.

"We've already tackled car fires and a grass fire up top. It's been so dry ... we put that out on a Thursday, then again on a Friday, and Sunday it was on fire again."

For the band's chief it was an important moment, as the band now takes responsibility for fighting fires on the reserve.

"We're constantly getting different calls about various fires around the community," said Isnana. "Though we had a good relationship with the Fort Qu'Appelle Fire Department, we thought we should have our own fire department now. We have our own buildings now and new homes coming up every year."

In addition to about 150 homes, Standing Buffalo also has a personal care home, band offices, a health clinic, a school -and now a fire hall.

The First Nation spent about $50,000 on equipping the new fire department, not counting a reconditioned fire truck purchased in Winnipeg, Isnana added.

More band members may apply for firefighting training when another series of courses is offered this fall.

About 50 Standing Buffalo band members came to watch the new firefighters put their new skills into practice Aug. 24, as the old abandoned house was set on fire several times. At the end, the house was allowed to burn to the ground as the firefighters practiced saving area buildings and pushing in the walls of the burning structure, to prevent flaming debris from raining down on others.

The exercise was a good way to show off their newly acquired talents, said Randy Korde, the course's main instructor.

"The last four weeks they've gone through the course, they've gone though learning basic fire behavior, techniques on how to approach the fire, to put on the proper ventilation - basically, how to put out a fire in a matter of minutes and how to do it safely."

It wasn't all work for Standing Buffalo's firefighters, however. The new recruits visited the provincial First Nations' firefighting competition in early August on Muskoday First Nation.

"We just watched," said Yuzicappi. "Next year we'll be qualified to enter."

Fourteen of Saskatchewan's 74 First Nations have their own fire departments.