PORT HAWKESBURY: Town council passed a motion to support the establishment of a new St. John Ambulance brigade in the town.
Georges Narbonne, with St. John Ambulance Canada, made a presentation at the Jan. 6 regular monthly meeting of Port Hawkesbury Town Council.
“This is a project that I’ve actually been working on for a few years,” he said. “We want to bring a St. John Ambulance Brigade to Port Hawkesbury.”
One of the world’s oldest non-profits, Narbonne said they return any money back to the community.
“We save lives,” he told council. “We teach first aid, most people are aware of that, and that’s where we make our money.”
Narbonne said volunteers in the brigade are trained to be medical first responders, who receive weekly training, and must pass criminal record checks.
“We go into communities and help with events. Anyone in need of medical assistance at an event,” he said. “We provide our own equipment; we have defibrillators, we have oxygen, we have full equipment kits. When we go out to an event, we bring our own stuff, and the brigade itself will pay for that. It’s not going to cost the community anything.”
St. John Ambulance members volunteer with Nova Scotia’s Emergency Management Office and Narbonne said they help during emergencies like natural disasters.
Narbonne said he has spoken with the Port Hastings Volunteer Fire Department, and plans to talk to Port Hawkesbury RCMP.
“I do have enough members to actually do an event,” he said.
Narbonne asked that the town provide a weekly meeting space for no more than 10 people, and give them permission to attend events at town facilities, including the arena, sports fields, and trails.
“What we’d like to do is get into your activities, where we can be a benefit,” he told council. “At the same time, we could train our volunteers, who would not only have the training, but also have the experience.”
CAO Terry Doyle said he spoke to the chief of the Port Hawkesbury Volunteer Fire Department who said they could make the fire hall available for meetings and said the department is ready to support the new group.
“With respect to potential meeting space, the fire hall, the local fire chief has expressed interest in supporting the organization as well,” he said. “We’ll look further on what support to sporting events looks like, specific meeting requirements, and those types of things.”
Council approved the motion, which includes activities in the town like Festival of the Strait, Granville Green, and activities on the waterfront, and they approved a motion to provide St. John’s Ambulance with weekly meeting space.