MRC Pontiac seeking another fire prevention tech, will pay for schooling

MRC Pontiac seeking another fire prevention tech, will pay for schooling

After having some difficulty hiring another fire prevention technician, MRC Pontiac is offering to pay for the one-year CEGEP course of a potential candidate. The resolution approving the move was made at the public council meeting on August 21 and a posting will be published shortly on the MRC’s website.

MRC Public Safety Coordinator Julien Gagnon explained that they had previously put the job posting out twice last year, with no success. He said that in addition to public outreach in schools and things of that nature, the primary responsibility of the fire prevention technicians is to inspect high-risk structures on the territory. Structures that are commercial, house hazardous materials or host large gatherings of people are deemed higher risk  and need to be inspected by a qualified technician every five years.

Being unable to hire a qualified candidate last year, the MRC had to contract out some of their inspections to a private company.

The course, which is a collaboration between the City of Gatineau and CEGEP de l’Outaouais, will start in January 2025, and a successful candidate will be hired by the MRC after the course is completed at the end of that year. Gagnon said that the tuition and book fees for the course are roughly several hundred dollars, and will be covered by the MRC.

The full interview with Gagnon (8m40) is available here.