Lac Ste. Anne County Activity Report LSAC_Flipbook_Activity Report 2016-17_FINAL_HiRes | Page 13

REPORT FROM COUNTY FIRE SERVICES Lac Ste. Anne County Fire Services provides a composite fire suppression model supported by full-time, part-time and volunteer members dedicated to safeguarding County residents, visitors and municipal neighbours alike. I wish to begin my report by thanking the spouses and extended families for the tremendous support they give our Fire Services members. I fully realize that fire calls are rarely convenient or conducive to family life. However, I sense that (most of the time) our spouses understand. Being part of a Fire Service is more than the response; it’s the million little things that get in the way at times. RANDY SCHROEDER County Fire Chief [email protected] 780.785.3411 TF 1.866.880.5722 When recruiting, we ensure that new members grasp a fundamental expectation: family life and work requirements take precedence over the duties required of a first responder. A balance must be maintained. With a busy service such as ours, there is so much that members contribute daily, weekly, and monthly behind the scenes: training; cleaning; organizing; building projects; fire prevention and fundraising initiatives. Then there is the tough stuff, such as stress debriefings of terrible incidents, crisis management, and all the negative things we can potentially bring home. It’s because of the contribution of our families in their acceptance and support of our members’ involvement that our Fire Service exists at all. Thank you as well to our members; not just for answering the call, but for all the additional “stuff” that makes our Fire Services the best it can be. Thank you to the Officer core in all our Fire Stations. Each of you has heard from me that you are accountable to our members. Being a leader in our Service means that you work every day to support, teach, mentor and provide guidance. Thank you to County Council and Senior Administration — chiefly County Manager Mike Primeau. Our Safety Director (and my Assistant Fire Services Administrator) Carole Peacock deserves a special thanks for her dedication to ensuring that emergency services in the community remains a top priority both today and for years to come. Last, but certainly not least, I wish to thank those who have provided food and refreshment to our members on many of their calls. We appreciate your thoughtfulness! THE YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 was the busiest year on record, testing our members on every level. In a year of many critical events and much economic hardship, they persevered. The year began in a relatively normal fashion, if not a bit slow. However, toward the end of April, extreme fire conditions arose and all stations were at full tilt. Between April 15 and May 15, we responded to 105 calls, including 21 fires in six days in and around the Town of Mayerthorpe. This included the now iconic CN Trestle Fire. Due to the extreme fire conditions, separate evacuations of the Hamlet of Glenevis, portions of Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nations and the Town of Mayerthorpe occurred, and the residents of the subdivision of Noyes Crossing were placed on evacuation alert. In the midst of this activity, Station 6 lost Deputy Chief Tom Eichhorn at the beginning of May. A 33-year veteran of our Fire Service, our brother succumbed after a long and courageous battle with cancer. The summer normalized with heavy rains in June, abating fire danger. However, call volume remained high well into the fall. County Fire Services had a total of 535 responses throughout the year. Operations 13.