The Redwood Meadows Firefighters Association (RMFA) will be celebrating 10 years of community involvement at their Firefighters Ball.
The ball is put on every two years and will be held at the Bragg Creek Community Centre Oct. 4.
The evening includes a prime rib dinner, live and silent auctions, live music from Corvette Cowboy and a cash bar. Cocktails start at 6:30 p.m. and dinner follows at 7:30 p.m. Leslie Horton from Global Television Calgary will be hosting the event.
RMFA is a Canadian registered charity that fundraises in support of Redwood Meadows Emergency Services (RMES). Gary Robertson is the president of the RMFA and said that the funds raised from this ball would be going towards building a training facility that would be located behind the RMES building.
“This would give us the opportunity to enhance training and therefore enhance the level of service provided to the community and ensure that the firefighters are safer and all go home at the end of the day,” said Robertson, adding that emergency service providers from neighbouring communities would also be able to access the facility.
Some of the items up for auction this year are two tickets anywhere WestJet flies, a cruise for two, a fly along with HAWCS, a firefighter birthday party package, a ride in a stunt plane and more.
Currently, Robertson said that RMES doesn’t have the means to regularly train for certain skills and have to send people into Calgary, which is cost prohibitive.
He added that without all of the community support for their fundraising events, such as Bragg Creek Days Pancake Breakfast, Heroes In The Sky and the Firefighters Ball, the training centre and other items they have purchased for RMES wouldn’t be possible. Some of these items include vehicle extrication equipment, CPR mannequins and AED trainers for teaching first aid and CPR, a Polaris Ranger 6x6 and rescue support trailer, $40,000 towards the purchase of the department’s new rescue truck and emergency medical responder training for over 25 members of the department. Robertson said the goal for all their fundraising events this year, including the ball, was $100,000, approximately the cost of building the facility to completion.
He also added that the way the facility is put together allows them to add more aspects to the training centre in stages if needed. The hope would be to have the facility open by summer 2015. Tickets for the event are $75 and are available at firefightersassociation.ca.
