Mike Chappell, the brand manager of Brandt Tractor Ltd. in Kamloops, says a recent donation of $6,000 to Barriere First Responders (BFR) was a way to give back to those who “give so much to their communities.”
“We get annual amounts that we give away at Brandt as a whole, and it’s important to us to support the communities where we live. With the tough year everybody has gone through with the wildfires and so many losing their homes, to see the people in Barriere ‘jump to the pump,’ so to speak, to help other communities during that time, we wanted to help out, [and saw] this as an opportunity to acknowledge their efforts.”
Barriere First Responders respond to medical emergencies in the Barriere and district area. The organization is a not-for-profit society that provides emergency medical care to patients when needed and as requested by the B.C. Ambulance Service.
These volunteer first responders are trained in basic life-saving procedures critical to a patient’s safety when an ambulance delay is inevitable. The society responds to approximately 100 calls annually in the District of Barriere and the surrounding area. The area of coverage is from the Black Pines area north to Chu Chua near Darfield.
President of the BFR, Drew McMartin explained, “The goal of the society is to purchase a cargo trailer to be converted into a mobile first aid room, command post, and mass casualty trailer. This unit would be deployed to any major disaster in the region to assist in providing better medical coverage. It could also be set up for specific events to act as a First Aid Station to help fund the society and allow for local ambulance services to respond to normal daily operations during those events.”
According to the BFR, the society has applied for a grant to assist them in their ongoing efforts, and is now waiting to hear if the grant is approved.
The Barriere First Responders hold meetings twice monthly on Monday nights starting at 7 p.m. at the Barriere Fire Hall. Anyone who is interested in joining should fill out an application form (found on their website at https://bafrs.org/) and bring it with them to the next recruitment orientation session. More information about the society can also be found on their website.
