MBiz

28 MBiz | november 2016 ELITE SAFETY SERVICES - a proud member of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce in the Western Region Former firefighters Marc Watt and Darren Brick provide a full range of courses and training, from fall-protection and rappelling to first aid and emergency rescue. Photos courtesy of Elite Safety Services W hen firefighters Marc Watt and Darren Brick started taking side jobs doing safety training, they had no idea they were blazing a trail to a successful business. The former Brandon Fire Department colleagues are co- owners and directors of Elite Safety Services. They use their real-world experience to provide customized safety training and standby services to a wide variety of sectors across Manitoba and beyond, including industrial, construction, manufacturing, and oil and gas. It all started more than 15 years ago when they both began teaching provincial courses through the local rural fire service. "We discovered quickly that industry also needed a similar type of training. So we both started teaching to industry on our days off, just small things to begin with — first aid, transportation of dangerous goods — and we became known for doing that," Brick says. One thing naturally led to another, and they incorporated in 2008. "We were doing that kind of work day in and day out, so it made sense and it grew from there. We started doing more confined-space and fall-protection training. Then we found out there was a need for rescue teams on-site because of emergency rescue legislation, so we were able to provide that as well." For their first rescue gig, they rented equipment, borrowed a friend's trailer and did the job themselves. Today, Elite Safety Services has 23 full-time staff and they can call on as many as 150 part-time people, such as current and former firefighters and paramedics, 911 dispatchers, corrections officers and military members. Fully mobile, they have an impressive fleet of equipment, including two 24-foot mobile trailers used to teach people how to escape from a confined space or save someone who is trapped. Another trailer simulates a roof for fall-protection training, and they've started teaching rope safety techniques and rappelling. "The trailers have different configurations inside, and people learn how to control the hazards before entering a confined space – but in a controlled environment with no actual hazards. We can put smoke in there and people can use breathing apparatus to simulate getting a hazardous chemical out, and we have cameras inside so people outside can watch what's happening. It's not your average everyday course," Brick explains. The trailers and the rest of Elite Safety Services' equipment fit comfortably inside the company's brand-new home — a 12,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building on Brandon's southeast edge. "It's really a phenomenal building. We have great classrooms and lots of training areas for hands-on applications," Watt says. "We have facilities where we can do drug and alcohol screenings for clients, a fit-testing room and a gym for our staff's personal wellness, a staff lounge, a pressure-based air compressor for breathing air bottle fills, and lots of parking – which is something we really lacked at our last facility." The team moved into the new digs in May, and held a grand- opening celebration in October. "It's a professional-looking building and it really complements the company and the brand we've created," Watt says. "The attention to detail of the facility is similar to the attention to detail we put into our services. The building impresses our clients and then when they get into the classroom, our instructors and staff impress them as well." They also have an office and staff at the ready in Winnipeg, and their mobility allows them to take their services wherever clients need them. "We're a Manitoba company that offers programs and services nationally. I think people are sometimes scared to phone us because they think we're just in Brandon. But we can be at Portage and Main teaching a course a couple of days from now just as easily as we can be in Thompson," Watt says. The company also offers courses such as defensive driving, snowmobile and ATV safety, emergency first aid and forklift safety. To learn more, visit www.elitesafetyservices.ca. ■ Be Careful OUT THERE Safety training service covers all the bases By Sherry Kaniuga

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