Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Northern Sunrise County Protective Services held its annual RISK (Reduce Injury through Student Knowledge) program to help educate students of the effects of drinking and driving.
The program was introduced to the County nearly 20 years ago to show how drinking and driving can impact individuals and emergency teams. This year’s event featured 25 volunteers to make the program successful, along with multiple regional partners.
“We have students come from local schools to teach kids not to drink and drive,” says NSC fire chief David LeBlanc.
“We put together a mock car crash, have a pre-recorded call to 911, and allow them to see the stages required when responding to a car crash,” he adds.
LeBlanc says the program is run solely on volunteer time and donations. The mock car crash includes a 911 call to emergency services after a mock accident occurred as a result of a drunk driver. One (actor) in the crash has died and one is severely injured. The crew puts together a mock example of every emergency service required to assist people in the crash.
“Students have an opportunity to participate in a variety of activities to see the result of drinking and driving,” LeBlanc says.
“They participate in events with EMS who attend to the injured party, RCMP allow them to do a breathalyzer and explore drunk driving videos, and a variety of other things.”
This year, 130 students ventured to the fire hall from Cadotte Lake, Peace High, Glenmary, and Grimshaw High School to participate in the event. Guest speakers also have time with the students to explain how they’ve been impacted by drunk drivers.
“We have seen a noticeable decrease in youth incidences of drunk driving since we started this program,” says LeBlanc.
“It’s been between five and six years since we had a youth involved with one of these incidences. We intend on continuing on with the initiative as long as we can.”
LeBlanc says next year they will celebrate their 20th anniversary of the program, and will start to advertise early next year.
