Chatham-Kent Fire & Rescue is being recognized for its exceptional ability to serve rural communities.
The organization was recently awarded accreditation for Superior Tanker Shuttle Service by the Fire Underwriters Survey.
CK Fire has now been added to the list of accredited agencies for the delivery of Superior Tanker Shuttle Services.
According to Assistant Fire Chief Ken Labonte, this involved the fire teams in rural Chatham-Kent proving that they can move water with tankers so efficiently that they match the water supply urban areas would receive from fire hydrants.
"The water shuttle consists of, when a station responds out into the rural area and there's a need for an increased water supply, they call on the neighbour stations as well," explained Labonte. "So you'd have multiple fire stations from within Chatham-Kent tanker shuttling water to that fire scene."
Labonte said the steps towards getting accreditation were no easy feat.
"It was quite a rigorous process to go through," he explained. "We had to provide Fire Underwriters Survey with a lot of different information. We provided them with the number of firefighters we have, the education and certifications that each firefighter holds. Then we identified the number of fire stations, the type and numbers of apparatus in each station, the pump capacity of the trucks, the gallon capacity they carry, that sort of information."
In addition to a thorough review of all CK Fire operational and prevention activities, stations had to demonstrate their abilities through several large-scale water shuttle practical exercises that took place over the last few months in numerous rural communities across Chatham-Kent.
The appropriate changes have also been made to the Canadian Fire Insurance Grading Index, which Labonte said could make residents eligible to receive cheaper fire insurance rates from most insurers in Canada.
"The potential is there to decrease insurance rate, that is solely up to the insurance companies themselves," he said. "But, by us being able to deliver the amount of water that the Fire Underwriters Survey asks for, that will help in lowering the insurance rates."