Raising Awareness Through Media
Deputy Chief Robert MacPherson
Antigonish, Nova Scotia (pop. 5,000) -- Now serving as Deputy Chief, Robert MacPherson of the Antigonish Volunteer Fire Department in Nova Scotia says he was a firefighter for seven years before one harrowing experience altered his view of what true firefighting was all about. In July of 1992, he was one of the firefighters searching for two children and their father who were trapped inside a burning trailer. The little boy and his father died, and the little girl spent a year in the hospital. A year after this tragic fire, Chief MacPherson was a part of the team that responded to a house fire where a woman died. And about a year after that, he was involved in another deadly fire in which a man died.
“The first incident affected me especially deeply because the kids were small. It took a while to get over, and it was hard to talk with people about it,” Chief MacPherson said. “Other firefighters tried to relate their experiences of losing a person in motor vehicle accidents, but it’s not the same as when you can’t see, and you’re trying to find a child in extreme peril.”
Chief MacPherson says that being involved in so many tragic incidents in such a short time brought thermal imaging up on his priority list. The first step to his successful fundraising effort was to get firefighters on board. Chief MacPherson borrowed a thermal imager from fire equipment distributor MicMac Fire to conduct an informal demonstration with a group of 25 volunteer firefighters in a darkened local auditorium. Firefighters immediately supported the launch of a local campaign when they saw how quickly they were able to find a person hiding in the room.
Chief MacPherson’s next goal was to make an impact with the Antigonish newspaper, The Casket. The end result of a hands-on demonstration with Editor Ann MacQuarrie was an influential article that launched the campaign by making the community aware of the capability of the technology.
“I think it made a big difference to actually show her what the thermal imager could do, so she knew first-hand. That article really raised awareness. People would stop me on the street to ask me about it. One fella stopped me and said, ‘Geez, I saw the article in the paper. That’s quite a tool. How does it work?’”
From the time the campaign was launched in July of 2001 to the time the department received its thermal imager in March of 2002 was just eight months. A committed group of dedicated firefighters led fundraising appeals, including a letter to local businesses, donation cans in retail stores, and presentations to local government and community groups. Of 43 letters mailed, the department received answers to 40 of them. In the end, nearly half of donations came from government and institutions in Antigonish, and the other half came from local businesses. Several individuals also made generous contributions.
“The camera hasn’t saved a life yet, but it’s sure made a lot of peace of mind for me that in a structure fire, we can just look around the room. The day will come when history will repeat itself, and this will save a life,” Chief MacPherson said.
Funding Tip: Regardless of how you have decided to raise funds to buy thermal imagers for your department, attempt to gain publicity for the fundraiser and the organizations involved. Get the media involved early and get as much exposure as you can for the technology before you ask for money. Strong involvement from the media can make an enormous difference in the success of your campaign. When the campaign is finished, invite the media to cover the delivery of the equipment so people know it has been purchased.