Four-man crew from Hanna helps fight fires in NWT

By Joan Janzen

Four local firefighters from Hanna were deployed to the Northwest Territories on Wednesday morning, August 23rd, to help fight fires. Rob Palmer, Special Areas (SA) Fire Chief, along with Glen Durand - Captain of the Hanna Fire Department, Justin Hill - Hanna Fire Department, and Shane Olesen - Hanna Fire Department, completed the four-man crew. One of the members is required to be a pump operator; both Shane Olesen and Justin Hill are pump operators.

The four-man crew from Hanna were deployed to the NWT on Wednesday, August 23rd. L-R: Shane Olesen - Fire Fighter from Hanna Department, Glen Durand - retired Special Areas Fire Chief and Captain on Hanna Fire Department, Rob Palmer - Special Areas Fire Chief and Captain on Hanna Fire Department, Justin Hill - Fire Fighter from Hanna Department. Photo submitted by Rob Palmer

“We ended up with a crew of four, so we took a fire truck and a command vehicle,” Rob said. They all headed out at different times on Wednesday morning. Rob has been Deputy Fire Chief since 2015 and moved into the role of SA Fire Chief last year. He’s a big advocate for supporting volunteer firefighters.

He said deployments are always last minute, and typically, they get about four hours notice. When a request came from the province, “They were looking for Type 3 wildland fire trucks,” Rob said. They were desperate for help.

David Mohl, Fire Chief for the Hanna Fire Department, said, “This deployment is a joint effort between the Special Areas Fire Dept. and the Hanna Fire Dept. Special Areas Fire Dept. supplied the engine, and the team is being led by the Special Areas Fire Chief Rob Palmer. Hanna Fire Dept. supplied the other three firefighters.”

There was a lot of prep work that had to be done before the crew from Hanna headed out on their 1600 km, two-day journey. They travelled to High Level on the first day and completed the remainder of the trip to Fort Smith on the second day. A few years ago, a crew from Hanna had spent eleven days at High Level, where they had been deployed.

“We had multiple requests this year, but we weren’t able to go. We didn’t have the manpower,” Rob explained. This is the fire department’s first deployment this year.

The crew members volunteer to be deployed but are paid an hourly wage by the province. “It’s all volunteer on these deployments. We’ll stay a minimum of seven days,” Rob explained. “We could be up there up to fourteen days if we can find more guys to come up to relieve us after seven days, but it doesn’t look like we’ll have anyone to relieve us.”

Many of the Alberta fire departments are in Yellowknife and Fort Smith. Fort Smith is a town in the southeastern part of the NWT, adjacent to the Alberta border.

“We will do whatever we’re asked to do within our truck capabilities,” Rob said. “Typically, it can be different every day. Mother Nature is the most important factor when it comes to these fires.”

The Hanna crew will join with many other fire departments while they are deployed. CTV news reported a thirteen-member crew from the Calgary Fire Department departed on Monday, August 21st, for Yellowknife to help defend the capital in the event wildfire reaches it. CJME 980 reported the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) sent 40 wildland firefighters to the NWT. The group departed from Prince Albert on August 17th and is expected to remain for about two weeks. Another sixteen Saskatchewan firefighters were sent to the Yukon to help contain other fires.