Latest news with #mutualaid
CBC
02-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Group of P.E.I. firefighters to join the fight against wildfires in western Canada
Social Sharing A dozen P.E.I. firefighters have been deployed to help fight the wildfires disrupting communities in western Canada. Ten forest firefighters have been sent to Saskatchewan, where there were 18 active fires as of Monday afternoon, with eight listed as not contained. On the border with neighbouring Manitoba, a huge fire continues to threaten Flin Flon, a city of 5,000 people. In addition to the 10 firefighters sent to Saskatchewan, two people have been sent to Manitoba to work as safety officers. Mike Montigny is the manager of field services at the P.E.I. Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division. "Every province, territory and federal agencies — including Parks Canada and the Department of National Defence — we all have signed agreements for mutual aid, knowing full well that you can't build a program for situations like Saskatchewan or the western part of Canada are facing right now," he said. "Knowing that we can support each other when needed, they don't need to carry that permanent burden of the staffing, the training, the resourcing... We can share resources across this country." Wildfire evacuees scramble to find somewhere to stay 21 hours ago Duration 4:50 With thousands of people forced to evacuate their communities because of wildfires, the next challenge is finding somewhere to stay, with some being sent as far away as Niagara Falls, Ont. Meanwhile, the 150 fires across the Prairies show few signs of slowing down. Montigny said extreme fire emergencies happen only once in 15 to 20 years, though they seem to be more frequent in recent years. The province of Saskatchewan declared a state of emergency on Thursday. About 20 communities have been under evacuation orders, with thousands displaced from their homes, many of them evacuated from remote communities by air. Some of the firefighters sent out west have gone through the first year of the P.E.I. department's wildland fire program. "We were able to get four great students this year," Montigny said. "They're excellent and so far they've been learning lots, and they're going to be buttoned in with some very, very experienced firefighters." Montigny said there are a few things the province looks for in potential candidates for the training program: People who are "able to learn quickly, to be physically fit — because it's a physically demanding job — and to be able to deal with the mental side of wildland fire as well too." Good training experience Montigny said helping other provinces will continue to let P.E.I.'s firefighting strength grow. "That knowledge and experience comes back home to the Island," he said. "We're able to see, especially some of the younger employees, they get a confidence, they get some experience... you can't get that kind of training." That confidence boost isn't just for the trainees, he added.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire burns 5 acres in Moses Lake Monday
May 27—MOSES LAKE — Monday evening, around 5 p.m., the Moses Lake Fire Department was dispatched to a brush fire near State Route 17 and North Stratford Road. "We came in at five o'clock, and we responded with a battalion chief, a fire engine, three brush trucks, two medic units, and we called for mutual aid from Grant County Fire District 5," MLFD Interim Fire Administrator Mike Ganz said. "They sent us a tender and a brush truck." The fire was around an acre large when MLFD arrived, Ganz said. However, due to the winds, it grew to around five acres of land. Crews left the scene at around 10 p.m. Monday after containing the fire and completing mop-up. There were no injuries or structures threatened, Ganz said. "A real conservative estimate is that they used probably about 30,000 gallons of water to get it out," Ganz said. Ganz said the cause of the fire is unknown at this time and it is unlikely an investigation will be pursued because of a lack of leads. "It's my understanding that that's in the area where the fire started. That's just a really tough one," Ganz said. "So, it's just a cause unknown at this time. I mean if someone had seen something that was suspicious, then we probably would go to that next level. But at this point, it's just an unknown source, and it could be anything from a spark from the railroad tracks or the road, or somebody that was in that area, but without any more information, we're just going with an unknown source." Ganz said this blaze marked the beginning of their busy season. "This will be a busy season," Ganz said. "As the weather gets hotter and fuel starts to dry out, we have a lot of grass areas and brush areas, and so we're very active in the summer with brush fires within the city limits, as well as giving mutual aid outside into the county." He said he feels confident going into the upcoming fire season, though. "We've just spent the last month training all our folks to the red card level, which is their updates on all their brush fire, wildland fire training," Ganz said. "We're anticipating that this is the season that it gets really active, and so we've done our planning, and we're prepared for it. This is a perfect example of the kind of response that we can give when a fire like this occurs in the city." Ganz said he wants to remind people to be mindful of fire with the upcoming Grant County burn ban about to go into effect. He said that although the county is placing its burn ban, it is not legal to burn within Moses Lake city limits, year-round. "Open burning in the city is not allowed, whereas in the county, it is, but then they restrict it during the summer months," Ganz said. "Just tell people to not start any fires and we should be good."
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Crews battle fire at Slippery Rock Campground
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (WKBN) — The Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team were called to put out a trailer fire at Slippery Rock Campground on Saturday afternoon. The department shared pictures of the damage on their Facebook page. Fire crews and mutual aid departments acted quickly to keep the fire from spreading to other campers. More help was sent because of the wind, nearby dangers and not having enough water. They used three hoses to fight the fire and protect nearby areas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fast Company
09-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
What do moms really want for Mother's Day? Paid leave
Many brands take advantage of Mother's Day to sell more products, like flowers and cupcakes. But 50 companies, including workwear label M.M. LaFleur, framing startup Framebridge, and stroller brand Bugaboo, are joining forces to draw attention to America's lack of federal paid leave. Across the country on Saturday, May 10, the nonprofit MomsRising, the Paid Leave for All campaign, and 50 brands are hosting pop-ups in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Nashville; Hoboken, New Jersey; and Cleveland, offering more than $100,000 in donated goods and services. The idea is to help new moms by giving them things like formula, breast pumps, clothing, and strollers, while also giving them a little break with massages and food. For those who can't attend in person, there is a nationwide giveaway that moms can enter or nominate fellow moms to receive things like care packages. Ultimately, though, the goal is to show that this kind of mutual aid is not enough. What mothers and other caregivers need is paid time off after they give birth. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world without a federal paid leave policy, and as a result nearly a quarter of mothers have returned to work within just two weeks of giving birth. (This can be unsafe: After a C-section, doctors recommend that women rest for at least six weeks as their scars heal.) While some companies voluntarily offer workers parental leave, many don't. For example, in Ohio and Tennessee, 72% of workers don't have access to paid family leave; in Pennsylvania, that figure is 62%. And families lose $34 billion every year because women take unpaid time off. As a global brand, based in the Netherlands, Bugaboo interacts with parents from around the world. Jeanelle Teves, the company's chief commercial officer, has seen the positive impact of paid leave in other countries. 'Especially when you're having your first child, giving birth and taking care of an infant can be overwhelming,' she says. 'It makes such a difference when parents don't also have to worry about their jobs during this period.' She also points out that in the U.S., it is often wealthier people working at white-collar jobs who have access to paid time off from their employers. 'In many other countries, there is this sense that all parents deserve this time to focus on their families for a while,' she says. 'It takes a lot of flexibility to get a new life underway' Dawn Huckelbridge, founding director of Paid Leave for All, contends that this is not just a human rights issue; it's also a business issue. Companies that have good family leave policies are better able to hire and retain workers. 'A federal paid leave policy will ensure that companies have the resources they need to give workers time off,' she says. Susan Tynan founded Framebridge a decade ago as the mother of small children. From the start, she wanted to ensure that all workers had paid time off. Today, the company has 600 employees, 500 of whom work in manufacturing or retail stores. All of these workers receive four months of paid time off after having a baby, and one month of flexibility as they return to work. The non-birthing parent also gets a month off. 'It takes a lot of flexibility to get a new life underway,' Tynan says. She points out that this kind of generous policy is much harder for a smaller, newer startup. Most small companies don't have enough staff to fill in for the person who is on leave, so they might have to hire someone else, which is an added expense. 'Even though we all know someone who has given birth should be on leave and should be supported, the company needs to continue to run,' says Tynan. 'A [federal] paid leave policy would be better for the economy because it would allow businesses to thrive and help women stay in the workforce.' Huckelbridge notes that this campaign occurs at a time when the country is dealing with many pressing political issues brought on by the new administration, including job cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency and deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But the goal of the campaign is to ensure that the fight for paid leave continues—even though this administration may not seem particularly amenable to it—and perhaps more importantly, to provide hope that paid leave is possible. 'The point of this campaign is to ensure that people feel seen,' says Huckelbridge. 'We want them to know that we see their struggle and we're fighting for a better future.'
