Above is an image of the Wheatland County Fire Department badge. This badge represents the standards and values in which each fireman is held for both Wheatland County and the Calgary Fire Department. (Maggie Brolsma, CMRU.ca)
The Calgary Fire Department has been serving residents across our city since its first fire hall opened over 100 years ago. From that very first hall back in 1885 grew over forty-two fire halls expanding virtually every quadrant of our city. Throughout its history, the Calgary Fire Department has upheld its mission to serve the community through excellence in fire prevention, education, and safety. Calgary has four primary platoons of firefighters across each fire station, providing a range of emergency and non-emergency services. These services include:
– Responses to fires
– Emergency medical attendants
– Chemical and hazardous materials release
– Motor vehicle collisions
– Specialized rescue services in high or collapsed structures, confined spaces, or waterways
– Weather event prevention and assistance
What each Department contributes
The department’s commitment to keeping Calgarians safe is evident in each of their firefighters; a trait they have become well-known for and one easy to spot in senior fireman Jesse MacDonnell. He has been a part of the Calgary Fire Department for nearly 20 years and has been an active fireman for Wheatland County since the beginning of his career back in 2009. MacDonnell has worked tirelessly mentoring numerous recruits throughout his career. Most recently his passion for educating others has spanned across the country and internationally where he has become an expert instructor on vehicle extrication. This past summer, for example, MacDonnell traveled to the Ukraine to instruct firefighters on procedures involving safe vehicle extrication techniques. He explains the task was more challenging than usual given the fact many Ukrainian fire departments only have access to half the equipment available to most local departments and many substitutions had to be incorporated to obtain the same result. Though difficult at times, training scenarios such as this offer MacDonnell a challenge that he finds inspiring.
How Jesse Contributes
His duties closer to home, he admits, are equally as rewarding. These include fostering valuable outreach programs to the community to educate and inform residents about the many services the Calgary Fire Department provides. They encompass presentations at schools and community centers, fire safety inspection house calls and hosting a yearly tour of the fire departments for children and youth. MacDonnell along with other fire chiefs offers ride-alongs for those individuals who wish to explore a career in the fire service.
Personal Reflection
After partnering with the Calgary fire department as well as wheatland county, I have noticed that they have a strong sense of social awareness between both departments. I primarily spoke with senior fireman Jesse MacDonnell who was eager to share the numerous community outreaches each department does. The thing I found most interesting about each department was all the learning tools and opportunities they had available to the public and future firemen.
Even if you are not an aspiring fireman yourself, I would highly recommend looking into either department and educating yourself of proper fire safety, both in and outside your home. However, if you are an aspiring firman, I could not recommend both departments enough. Both are eager to educate younger generations and can offer much wisdom on next steps in regards to a career path.
I can see this project educating the public more on both fire departments and how open both are to helping those in need. Not only are both departments offering ride along and hall tours, you can also schedule a meeting with a mentor such as Jesse MacDonnell to get some great advice on the career. Through this project I have learned just how much these fire departments impact the communities both on and off call. I also learned how much grit and determination it takes to be with any fire department.
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