Brad Power

renovation equipment. Our primary destination for each province was the capital, where we had a formal parade, attended by the Lieutenant Governor of the Province. For our ride into Toronto, we were met by the Toronto Police Service, on Yonge Street, at the city limits. They escorted us down Yonge Street through downtown Toronto to the Fort York Armoury. We arrived during the height of the SARS pandemic. There was supposed to be a police force convention in Toronto that weekend. Due to the epidemic, they cancelled the conference, but were unable to get a refund on their accommodations. They were kind enough to donate their hotel rooms to our crew! So, we got a couple of days of R&R for free at the downtown Toronto Delta Hotel!”

In 2005, while deployed with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Op Athena, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Brad was granted a leave to attend the SAR Tech selection course in Alberta. He joined 30 other applicants for a gruelling, two-week ‘survival of the fittest’ test. The day after completing the selection course, but not knowing his results, he was back on a plane to return to Afghanistan, to complete his six month deployment. Two months later, he learned that he was one of the 12 people selected to take the year-long basic SAR Tech course.

The Search and Rescue Technician (SAR TECH) is part of a group of elite, highly trained rescue specialists who provide on-scene medical aid and extraction from some of the harshest and most remote areas of Canada. They are military aircrew who deploy from rotary or fixed wing aircraft in any environment or climactic condition. They will locate and penetrate the site and then treat and evacuate the causalities. SAR operations may require parachuting, mountaineering, hiking, swimming, and scuba diving. Sometimes these operations are conducted in adverse conditions.

The SAR-Tech Pledge:

‘That Others May Live’

Without regard for my personal comfort or self-advancement, to the best of my abilities and the limits of my physical and psychological endurance, I solemnly pledge to make every effort to return to safety, those victims of disaster entrusted to my care by the assignment of the mission to which I have consented. These things I shall do:

That others may live!

Here are the subjects that Brad was trained on during his SAR Tech course:

• Parachuting

• Ground Search and Rescue

• Paramedic Course

• Confined Space Rescue Diver course

• RUET Course (Helicopter Underwater Escape/ Ditching)

• Land/Arctic Sea Survival Operations

• Winter/Summer Mountain Operations

• High Angle Rope Rescue

• Rotary and Fixed Wing Flying Operations

Upon graduation in 2006, Brad was posted to the ‘Outcasts’ in the 103 Squadron, in Gander, as a team member on the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter.

“The SAR Squadron in Gander is one of, if not the busiest, SAR Squadrons in Canada, with the majority of the missions being marine based. With such a sparse population over a large area, and minimal SAR resources available, we would often be the only rescue asset available to respond. Our area of responsibility was the Atlantic Ocean of Canada’s east coast up the Labrador Sea, including the lower arctic and part of Baffin Island.

We spent a lot of time during our training flights, flying all over Newfoundland, getting to see the island from the air. The beautiful rugged shoreline around Newfoundland gave me a great sense of pride for my home province. If you ever have some free time, I’d highly recommend that you travel and explore Newfoundland and Labrador!”

In May 2007, SAR Nautical Legacy, his Cormorant helicopter crew was tasked with a Mayday on a fishing vessel, due to an on-board fire. They were located approximately 250 kms off St. John’s in the Atlantic. The fishermen were unsure if anyone had heard their Mayday call and the fire grew to a point where they had to abandon their vessel and jump in the Atlantic Ocean. The water temperature in May in the Atlantic Ocean is around five degrees. Four of the five boat crewmembers managed to get into survival suits. One was sleeping in his bunk when the fire started, and he couldn’t reach the area where the suits were kept and ended up jumping in the water in his underwear. A surveillance aircraft spotted the boat that was on fire first, and then the fishermen in the water. The surveillance pilot relayed those positions to the Cormorant SAR crew when they were about 20 minutes from being on-scene on their 1.5-hour flight. Once on-scene, the SAR crew were able to conduct the rescue via insertion by free entry (jumping from the helicopter) to the water and extraction by multiple rescue basket hoists.

“After approximately two hours in the water, we were successful in rescuing them all! Two of the fishermen were severely hypothermic and wouldn’t have lasted much longer if we didn’t reach them when we did. This mission ended up getting a lot of media attention, with our Aircraft Captain giving a live interview on Canada AM. Even Prime Minister Harper came to Newfoundland to meet the fishermen and rescue crew later that year”.

The SAR crew received the Mynarski Trophy for this mission. The Mynarski VC Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Royal Canadian Air Force Association to the most deserving federal, provincial, or civilian organization, crew or individual, in recognition of a significant contribution to air search and rescue in Canada.

Brad is an experienced aircrew member with over 3,000 flying hours on various RCAF rotary and fixed wing aircraft. He performed another mission for a HELO crash with 6 people on-board in central Newfoundland. They had to package six patients for full spinal immobilization. For over an hour they conducted six night-time stokes litter hoist sequences to remove all the patients. Brad and his crew received the RCAF Air Command Commendation for this rescue.

Brad’s next posting was in 2009, to 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron “The Tigers” in Trenton, Ontario. He was the Team Leader on the CC-130 Hercules and CH-146 Griffon aircraft.

In 2011, he and his Team Member parachuted into Northern Ontario, near Hudson Bay, to rescue an OPP Officer who had been snowmobiling and became lost and hypothermic. They were able to package the officer in their hypothermic rewarming kit while they waited for a ground party to reach them. Once the ground transport arrived, Brad and his Team Member transported the patient back to Moosonee on a two-hour snowmobile trip, because the Griffon helicopter was still four hours away.

On another mission in 2011, he parachuted into Georgian Bay, and with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard, he was able to rescue a 13 year old girl. Her family was out kayaking when the weather turned bad. Their kayaks had overturned and they were in trouble, as they had been separated. Due to high winds and waves, she had washed up on a dangerous rocky cliff area.

“We were able to parachute to the water, and a Coast Guard crew recovered us with their small rib. They took us as close to the shore as they safely could. My Team Member and I returned to the water and swam to the cliffs to reach the girl, quickly assessed her, and then got her into a single lift raft. We were able to swim her away from the crashing waves on the cliff edge and out to the open water to be recovered by the Coast Guard boat”.

“During my time in Trenton, we would conduct SAR training on Lake Ontario and around Toronto Island. During the winter season, the Toronto Fire Boat is one of the only boats still in service on Lake Ontario. Occasionally, the HELO crew would set up hoist training with the TFS boat and crew.

We would practice hoisting operations, insertions, and extractions from the Fire Boat. I remember one scenario in which we set up a medical exercise where we had the assistance of one of the fire boat crew members who acted as our patient for a medical exercise.”

“I also have some great memories of conducting water parachute drops to the Toronto and Peel Police Marine Units, around Toronto Island. Getting to jump from the Herc and parachute into Lake Ontario, while taking in the Toronto skyline was a really unique experience!”

“In 2016, I was part of the SAR HELO CH-146 Griffon crew, who got to take part in the Canadian International Air show, as the rescue crew and VIP transport. We spent the week working out of Billy Bishop Fire Hall. Each morning we would depart Pearson with a VIP, usually a Canadian or American General, and bring them downtown to see that day’s air show. On-route, we would often get a request to do a close fly-by of the CN Tower. We’d open our doors and do a slow fly by for the enjoyment of those in the CN Tower, and for ourselves too!”

“I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to serve Canada in the military. I was very lucky to have worked with a lot of amazing people. I was able to travel the world, and see just about every corner of Canada!”

“Moving over to work with Toronto Fire Services has been a smooth transition. It has allowed me to continue to serve our community in a dynamic and exciting environment.”

“Starting with Toronto Fire Services on day one at the Academy brought me back to my military basic training day one. Showing up, not knowing if I was wearing my uniform right! I felt a little naked in uniform without my beret! I was given the dress uniform hat and I brought it thinking that maybe it was part of the daily uniform I was supposed to wear! Chief Berg put us in our place, sorted us out, and had us on the buses in no time flat - off for day one of class.”

“The military spends a lot of time conducting training, to be as prepared as possible for the occasional missions we received. We experienced 80% training vs. 20% operations. Here at the TFS, I find we are opposite with 90% operations vs. 10% training. We are out assessing patients on medical calls, using the tools we have been taught on a much more frequent basis. There can be some down time, but there are busy times as well! I’ve been to back-to-back vehicle fires and a couple of ‘first truck in’ house fires this year! I feel confident with running medical calls, due to my SAR paramedic training. Actual fire calls though are another beast, where I’m just trying to take in and learn at least one thing from each fire response that we go to. Theory will only take you so far. There’s nothing better than getting dirty, while working on-scene, for gaining experience.”

When we got a SAR call, we would have lots of time to prepare and it would often take us an hour or more to arrive on scene. With TFS, it is only a few minutes from receiving the call to arriving on scene. This is something else that I’ve had to adjust to.”

“I’m really impressed with the Captains and crews I’ve seen out on calls. I can tell by their calm and cool demeanor that they have ‘been there – done that’ and have gained experience from the thousands of calls they have attended over their careers!”

“I am also impressed with the way the Association looks after our brothers and sisters. The TPFFA 3888 website is a great site. It provides a lot of information and resources for active and retired firefighters.”

Brad met his partner Justyna while they both performed SAR duties in Trenton. She is still in the military, working as an Air Combat Systems Officer. She trains aircrews to work on the CC-130 Hercules aircraft for the SAR role. Brad has three kids. Sophia is a typical 16 year-old teenager, who spends most of her time hanging out with her friends. Spencer, 14, is a big Montreal Canadiens fan, like his dad. He plays for the U15 Quinte West Golden Hawks Rep team. Sydney, who is 11, is a real pleaser. She is always interested in cooking and baking and would fit in really well at the fire hall!

I think that our brother and sister firefighters would agree that the skills that Brad worked hard to develop in his military life translate well to a firefighter’s career. We are fortunate to add his abilities to our capacity, to handle the emergencies we respond to.