Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The community’s firefighters and their significant others were honoured at an annual banquet, with several members receiving service awards and other gifts.
Members of the Kindersley Fire & Rescue Brigade and guests gathered at the Elks Hall on Feb. 3 for their annual Firefighters’ Banquet. The banquet included a catered supper, speeches and award presentations, and entertainment featuring a trio of comedians.
The department’s guests included officials from the Town of Kindersley, Staff-Sgt. Ray Blais of the Kindersley RCMP, members of the area’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team, a group from Kerrobert Fire & Rescue, members of the area’s Traumatic Events Response Team (TERT), and firefighters’ family and friends.
Mitch Hope, one of the local brigade’s captains, served as master of ceremonies for the evening. Hope had some fun with the crowd by playing a game to see which tables would get to eat first. After a brief welcome, people enjoyed a chicken or roast beef supper.
The master of ceremonies also shared the Volunteer Firefighter’s Poem at the onset of the banquet and My Heart for a Firefighter to close the banquet. He said it was a night to celebrate the firefighters, their loved ones and colleagues.
[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Feb. 7 print edition of The Clarion.’]
Hope introduced each member of the Kindersley Fire & Rescue Brigade from the chief to the newest members. He noted that the members are part of a progressive fire department that will adapt and learn as new technologies come along. He introduced Tyler Bairos, one of the brigade’s newest members, and his significant other Gabrielle Phinney, who did the toasts to the firefighters and their spouses.
Fire Chief Ron Hope was the next speaker of the evening. The chief first took the time to recognize a great display of kindness shown to him by the department’s members earlier in the day. The members chipped in for a special gift for the chief.
The members paid to have an old firefighter’s helmet painted and adorned with details about their chief. The artwork was done by Brian Kirkness, and the helment sits atop a stand that was made using an old fire axe. The gift was a surprise and the chief said it is appreciated.
“To my staff, thank you sincerely to each one of you for this gift,” he said, noting that it is given to him in recognition of the unaccounted hours, late nights and under-appreciated nights. “It’s appreciated more than words could ever say.”
Ron said it speaks volumes of the members to give such a gift, but also for each member to show up at the hall earlier in the day to help present him with the gift. An emotional chief said he is “extremely proud” to serve with each of the fire department’s members.
As he shifted gears with his speech, the chief provided statistics for 2017. The department responded to 150 emergency calls and he gave a month-by-month breakdown of the calls with a total of 28 calls in November being the most calls in a single month. He said false alarms are still a problem with 46 false alarms in 2017.
The chief said 150 calls in 365 days is a lot for a department with 20 members. He gave an account of a day when the department had to respond to multiple calls, and it even called on members to split up for their calls. He said on about Nov. 2, the department was called to respond to a motor vehicle accident involving an entrapment, two false alarms at a hotel and attend a debriefing after a regular work day.
He noted that the department is responsible for a very large area of more than 3,800 square kilometres and it gets busy at times. Even after responding to the emergency calls, several hours are spent at the fire hall cleaning hoses and working to return vehicles and equipment back to service.
“Kindersley Fire took to social media in the last few years in an attempt to educate the public and let them know what we do,” he said, adding that most people have no idea. “There are many hours spent at the hall after the call.”
The department responded to several grass fires in 2017 and Ron said Kerrobert Fire & Rescue helped the local department by cleaning hoses at one time. The assistance helped to get the local brigade back in service quicker than would have otherwise been possible, he said. He thanked the neighbouring department.
Mayor Rod Perkins of Kindersley spoke about the contributions made by local volunteer firefighters, and that he has gained a greater appreciation for what the firefighters do since he became the mayor in 2016. He thanked members, their spouses and employers for their efforts and support.
The mayor said the town has money in the 2018 budget to start building a new fire hall. He said the town has worked with the RM of Kindersley to get funding in place for the important project. Perkins referred to the need for new members.
After the speeches, several service awards were handed out. Myles Perrin and Wayne Bleile received awards for 20 years of service while Mitch received an award for 10 years of service and Byron Ismond received an award for five years of service. Deputy Fire Chief Rod Stevens received a special award from the governor general’s office in the form of a 30-year bar to add to his Exemplary Service Medal.
Three Edmonton-based comedians including Sean Lecomber, who has performed at Just for Laughs, Kent Tilley and David Dempsey entertained the crowd after the speeches. The banquet ended after raffle prizes were handed out to the lucky winners.
[/emember_protected]
