Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance donates fire trailer to Limerick

By Michael Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Limerick Township fire department has a new cargo trailer, donated to them by Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance. The trailer will be used to hold contaminated fire gear, their ATV for search and rescue operations, and as a warming or cooling space in the winter and summer respectively. CAO Victoria Tisdale comments on this donation to Bancroft This Week.

Cindy Fuerth, Limerick Township's bylaw enforcement officer and fire prevention officer, told Bancroft This Week that they were selling their WASP sprinkler systems to raise money for the trailer, and with her and Fire Chief Greg Maxwell being cancer survivors, they felt it was important to have the trailer to safely carry contaminated gear back from fires. According to the International Association of Firefighters, cancer has replaced heart disease as the biggest killer of firefighters, and between 2002 to 2019, they attributed 66 per cent of firefighter deaths to cancer caused by contaminants released from smoke and firefighting foam while fires are being extinguished.

Fuerth said she was selling the WASP sprinklers and stopped in at one of their residents and as telling her about the initiative.

“She pointed me toward Quinte, and she's a retired Bay of Quinte Mutual employee. I wrote a letter to them, we corresponded, and then it went to their board of directors and we were subsequently approved for the trailer. It was shocking but here we are. We picked the trailer up from Trailers Plus in Peterborough and had the graphics done locally by Art Bunnett Graphics in Coe Hill,” she says.

The WASP sprinklers that Fuerth was selling are manufactured by WASP Manufacturing Ltd. in B.C. Over 250 fire departments, HOAs and other organizations have either participated in WASP's community program or gotten the sprinklers for themselves. For more information, go to www.waspwildfire.ca.

Councillor Jan McKillican, who was present at the presentation of the trailer by Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance's Art Wiersma, Chrissy Poitras, Connie Robertson and Harry Scanlan, said the value of the trailer was worth about two percentage points on their taxes each year.

“So, this is a big thing for us,” she says.

Poitras said it was a big thing for them as well as they're a small mutual and community is really valuable to them.

“And the way this all came about is exactly how we see our mutual company. Even though we're not super close it still feels like a community even though there's a distance. I really love that. Thanks for sharing that story,” she says.

Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance has been providing insurance services to policy holders in communities across eastern Ontario since 1874, and take pride in being active contributors to their communities. “Neighbours helping neighbours” is one of their founding values and their donations focus on supporting charities and projects valued by their policy holders, like the trailer donation to the Limerick fire department. For more information, go to www.bayofquintemutual.com.

Tisdale explained to Bancroft This Week that what happens in structural fires, the firefighters' gear gets contaminated.

“So, what this is for, we can bag up the gear and put it in the trailer, haul the trailer to a place that does decontamination, and they have nice clean gear. But then it can be multi-functional too. It can take the ATV if we need it, it can be a warming station for winter calls and provide shade for summer calls. We'll definitely be using it!” she says.

Fuerth told Bancroft This Week that she, Fire Chief Greg Maxwell, Tisdale, Deputy Clerk/Deputy Treasurer Nicole Ilcio and the Limerick firefighters are overwhelmed at the amazing donation of the trailer from Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance.

“The trailer's primary use is to support the Limerick fire department's commitment to decontaminating fire gear and protecting volunteer firefighters from cancer hazards. We know there are many places for companies to allocate donations and we are so grateful that the Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Company chose to donate to the Limerick fire service cause. This donation helped the Limerick Fire Prevention Team meet its goals for the fundraising campaign of 2024. We will continue our campaign with a new initiative for 2025,” she says. “The Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Company's overwhelming generosity means everything to us and the community we serve.”