KINDERSLEY — A major gathering in Kindersley of firefighting and emergency services personnel will coincide with Emergency Preparedness Week, May 3 to 9.
The Saskatchewan Emergency Leadership Forum (SELF) will be held in Kindersley's West Central Events Centre May 7 to 10.
SELF is significant in Saskatchewan's emergency services world, acting as a top event for the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs (SAFC), Saskatchewan Emergency Planners Association (SEPA) and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). The Kindersley event has the theme "Today's Decisions, Tomorrow's Resilience and Readiness."
Kindersley Fire Chief Jeff Soveran stated in an interview with Your West Central Voice May 1 that the SELF conference originally began as a SAFC event, but the two co-sponsors were regular attendees and voiced interest in helping out. As well, this year's conference was originally scheduled for 2025, but as Soveran pointed out, Saskatchewan was ravaged by wildfires last spring, so the conference was postponed. Soveran added this event is SAFC's 75th anniversary.
Soveran stated Kindersley has been aiming to host this conference for a while. "It's a really, really big deal," said the fire chief by phone, adding there will be three days of activities and events, including formal opening and closing ceremonies. Soveran noted Kindersley is a great host community because this town has all the facilities and amenities that a major conference requires.
Two highlights will be the keynote speakers, Todd Abel of Granite Mtn. Hotshots and Jeff Dill, who will present on "Life After Service," plus a lengthy list of other expert speakers.
Soveran observed that the guest speakers will support the ongoing movement toward offering support for emergency services personnel, both physically and mentally.
Soveran noted that firefighters can encounter a lot of strange, sometimes dangerous, substances while performing their jobs, and safety is paramount.
He noted mental health is important too, and ensuring firefighters are healthy aids him in his goal of retaining his team as long as possible.
Training courses and special presentations are a key part of the event, and include programs such as Overdoses and the EOC A Whole Community Approach, Fire Investigation, How to Declare an Emergency and Evacuation Centre Set-up, among many others.
The three-day event also features a trade show and vendor demos for new and replacement equipment for emergency personnel to consider. Soveran stated the trade show will feature between 60 and 70 vendors and displays.
The SELF conference is a member-only event, so regular users should note the facility will not reopen to the public until the event is completed.
