He’s been on the Davidson Volunteer Fire Department for the last 18 years and remembers his worse call like it was yesterday.
You can see the raw emotion in fire Chief Clayton Schilling’s eyes as he recalls the incident and takes a moment to himself to collect his thoughts before coming back on camera.
“If you’d ask other members they’d have a list. I don’t have a list – I have the one I remember,” he said.
“Danille (Kerpan) was the hardest one because I knew her, we’re all friends and it was a person from our community.”
It’s been four years since Kerpan, 25, was killed by an impaired driver in a collision on Highway 11 just north of Davidson. The fire department was first on scene and it still shakes the chief to his core.
“I’ve pulled lots of people out of cars before, Danille’s hurt and it always will.”
To prevent tragedies in the making, the Davidson Fire Department, consisting of 17 volunteer members, has now started to offer what you could call a rural ride-share to couples on their big day along with their guests.
“I tell the crowd that we have this service,” deputy fire chief Don Willer said.
“If you have too much to drink and you want a safe ride home and the convenience of having your vehicle home the next morning just go up to the firefighters running the bar and they’ll arrange to drive you home in your car.”
In 2003, the department first offered the service to residents during the month of December when holiday parties were in full swing.
The initiative gets the firefighters out into the community and the money the department makes is then used to buy new equipment, but it’s ultimately about saving lives.
“When you can wake up in the morning, your vehicle is safe in your yard and you’re safe at home that’s pretty important,” said Gord Cross, a Davidson resident who used the fire service for his daughter’s wedding.
Cross signs off on liquor permits for events in town and said he feels better about doing so knowing that local firefighters will get people home safe and sound.
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“There’s a lot of legalities and nobody wants to get into a court case over what’s happened at a party at night,” he said.
The ugly truth about Saskatchewan is that for years its had some of the highest impaired driving rates in the country, if not the highest.
According to the country’s 2017 crime severity index released by Statistics Canada on Monday, that trend seems to be shifting. Impaired driving in Saskatchewan declined five per cent.
After the introduction of hefty fines and consequences for driving intoxicated as well as a change in social norms.
“The mindset is shifting, people are realizing it’s not worth it,” Willer said.
“I’ll leave my car or I’ll find a way to get home but it’s just not worth the risk.”
Firefighters coming to the rescue to proactively stop people from drinking and driving and save everyone else who is sharing the road.
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