Latest News

Brandon Sun - ONLINE EDITION

Students help keep Stampeders safe

By: Staff Writer

Wednesday, Jul. 18, 2012 at 11:22 AM | Comments: 0

Two Brandon residents are being credited with helping keep record-breaking crowds safe at the 100th Calgary Stampede.

The pair, fourth-year Brandon University students in the Applied Disaster and Emergency Services program, were assigned positions in the "hotzone" of the fireworks launch site.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s huge! This has been absolutely exhilarating. It’s made my Stampede!" said Greg Bartlett, a mature student who returned to post-secondary studies after several years of working as a firefighter, a fire-training specialist and a wildfire prevention officer.

Barlett was the safety coordinator for the fireworks shows and is also working with the Calgary Fire Department for the summer. "I was asked by the Stampede (organizers) to be the agency rep in the emergency operations centre. That’s been the icing on the cake."

Having taken a leave from her practicum — working as a volunteer fire fighter in her hometown of Warren, Man. — Kristy Hill also really enjoyed putting into practice the theory she learned in her courses.

"This was a good opportunity to see emergency management in use, at a big event. I don’t think people understand all the things that could go wrong when (thousands of) people attend, especially in the heat," she said. "This experience has really opened my eyes. Even after studying emergency management, I didn’t really understand the full capacity of what has to be done for an event such as this. There really is a lot of planning and a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes on, especially in risk management. I feel that my classes have prepared me for this and I’ve felt confident with what I know."

Joining Bartlett and Hill for both weekends of the Centennial Stampede was former Virden resident Linda Pic, a graduate of the university's ADES program. She was charged with checking for lightening strikes within 50 kilometres of the five fireworks launch sites.

"We shoot (the fireworks) both weekends and the only issue we had was Thursday night (July 5), during the dry run. We had two cracks, then we were fine," said Pic, who is now an emergency response coordinator for Visser Consulting in Calgary and who helped out Bartlett in his first year when she was a teacher-assistant in the ADES program.

"The Stampede’s been a little unreal. There are hundreds of thousands of people. I’ve run a lot of events, but nothing’s compared to this. Knowing that I tried to make the Stampede that much more memorable made it worth the long nights."

The 100th edition of the Calgary Stampede came to an end on July 15, when the remaining fireworks were set off to entertain attendees with a full 25-minute show.

"Everything went without a hitch. This was probably the biggest fireworks show in Canada .... There were thousands of fireworks. We were in the seven figures for fireworks. So, the (ADES) students proved to be very, very helpful," said Kevin Stanger, the Stampede’s environment and event safety manager.

Stanger added that though this was the first time Brandon University students participated in fireworks safety, he hopes to invite other students in the program to help out in the future.

"They were instrumental in making my side of the (event) a success."

Rate this
This article has not yet been rated.

We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.

You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.

Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.

Sort by: Newest to Oldest | Oldest to Newest | Most Popular 0 Comments

You can comment on most stories on brandonsun.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

There are no comments at the moment. Be the first to post a comment below.

Post Your Comment

The Brandon Sun does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. Comments are moderated before publication. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.