The Selkirk Fire Department has a reputation for excellence, being well trained and keeping the city and its residents protected and safe in countless situations.
Their skills are often required outside of city limits as part of the province’s Mutual Aid system, where neighbouring departments assist others in times of need. Mutual Aid is covered in two provincial acts – the Municipal Act and the Fires Protection and Emergency Response Act – making it law.
“It’s not just mutual aid, it’s mutual respect,”
Selkirk Fire Department Chief, Corey Gagne
For those who fight fires, it’s more than that.
“It’s not just mutual aid, it’s mutual respect,” says Selkirk Fire Chief Corey Gagne.
“It’s that respect that goes all the way around, with all the members from all the other departments. And that includes the chiefs, the officer groups and the firefighters. We all work together and in the City of Selkirk we have great people all around us.”
Selkirk Proud of the work and collaboration of SFD through Mutual Aid
Mayor Larry Johannson says the city’s Fire Department is top notch, and the collaboration between them and their neighbours is incredible.
“Each Fire Department is a family and its members are skilled and protect their community in all kinds of emergency situations,” Johannson said.
“Selkirk’s Fire Department does a fantastic job here in the city and they work closely with neighbouring departments through the Mutual Aid system and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Selkirk belongs to the South Interlake Mutual Aid District (SIMAD), which includes 11 fire departments and covers a massive land area. Its eastern border is the Red River and it runs from the Perimeter Highway north to Matlock, west to St. Laurent and south to St. Francis Xavier. Included in the district is Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport, much of which is in the RM of Rosser.
Craig Fiebelkorn is Selkirk Fire Department’s Safety Officer and Training Officer, and he’s also the SIMAD Coordinator.
“If we have a multi-department response somewhere, it’s my job to help them secure additional resources and then who’s going to cover their area,” Fiebelkorn said.
“A great example was East Selkirk, when the Libau Marsh was on fire earlier this year. Members from East Selkirk were busy out there for about a week attending the 5000 hectares fire (EA059) and while they’re not part of our district, they’re our closest neighbours. Selkirk Fire was covering them while they were away by back filling their hall, covering any emergency incidents in and around the village.”
It’s that mutual respect that has the city responding to East Selkirk, Gagne said, noting the close proximity makes Selkirk the logical choice.
“East Selkirk is in the Northeast Mutual Aid District, but because we’re right across the river from them, it’s quicker for Selkirk Fire to get there and help in the village than it is for any other department to attend,” Gagne said.
Sharing response for additional training
Selkirk works closely with the St. Andrews Fire Department, which operates the South and Clandeboye fire halls, and is also a member of SIMAD. The city and the South St. Andrews Hall share responsibility for the Gerdau steel plant, which is situated in the city and the in the RM, and Gagne says though one or the other department will be called by 911 to respond, each knows the other is at the ready if needed.
“Normally 911 calls Selkirk Fire because of proximity, but we have a look, and if there’s flames visible, Incident Command will ask 911 to page out St. Andrews Fire as well. And it goes vice versa, if St. Andrews happens to get the call to Gerdau, they’ll ask 911 to dispatch Selkirk,” he said.
The departments will also train together when the opportunity arises. Fiebelkorn says the difference between Selkirk’s urban setting and their neighbours’ rural landscape allows firefighters to practice skills they don’t get to use much.
“In Selkirk, we don’t often need to draw water from portable tanks, so we practice that technique with departments like St. Andrews or East Selkirk, who use it more often. In return, since they don’t have fire hydrants in their areas, they come to Selkirk to train on how to use hydrants, “he said.
And when larger training exercises are held, the departments often come together to get the maximum benefit.
“Stars is a great example of training together,” he said.
“If we’ve got them coming out, we’ll just call and invite our neighboring departments for a refresher on landing a helicopter. And they’re the same way, they’ll invite us out for training too.”
Gagne says when they train new recruits the departments will often host joint training.
Wildfire Response
This summer’s wildfires have seen numerous teams of Selkirk firefighters deploy to various Manitoba location to assist. Fiebelkorn estimates between 16-18 members were part of that Mutual Aid response, some of them going multiple times.
Canada Task Force 4 (CANTF4) is the province’s pool of trained firefighters who can apply to be part of the provincial team dispatched during emergencies. Selkirk has one member who belongs to CANTF4, but any of the members can join the response, as long as the department approves.
Selkirk members went to Lac du Bonnet and Lynn Lake in recent months, and the department’s Engine 11, recently retired and up for sale, also was part of the Lynn Lake response.
Camaraderie strong as fire crews from as far as the Unites States worked together to combat the wildfires
Captain Keith Smith went on three different occasions to fight wildfires. Smith went to Lac du Bonnet, and from there was sent to Davidson Lake where he spent about three days. He also went to West Hawk Lake, where they drove in and drove out 16 hours later. His response to Lynn Lake lasted a week. These three responses bring his total to five times in the last five years that he’s been part of a provincial response to wildfires.
His typical role is structural protection – saving buildings. He says this year’s stint in Lynn Lake was much different.
“I’m really proud of that one,” Smith says.
“Structural firefighters like myself are typically doing value protection, putting up sprinklers, setting up pumps and making it so that the structures are protected if the wildfire gets too close.
“But we had Engine 11 up north and we were fighting spot fires. We were flying to islands to do value protection; we were cutting landing zones for helicopters and we were working with American firefighters as well… We were all over the place and it was pretty insane. I’m super proud of the guys.”
The camaraderie was strong and he says everyone became close. He came home with Lynn Lake Fire Department hats and friendships that will survive over time.
“It’s long days, a lot of hard work but it’s actually super rewarding, and you end up having a pretty good time and making connections. And we made a difference, I know we made a difference.”
The experience also strengthens the bond between the Selkirk members, and Smith said some of the city’s new recruits were part of the responding team.
“It’s a different crew of guys and it brings us together. Once you’re really in it with everybody, that’s when you get to really know people,” Smith said.
“The only reason we become firefighters is so we can help”
Captain Keith Smith
Moving into a community where people’s lives have been turned upside down by wildfire is an emotional experience, Smith said. There’s a sense of hopelessness among the displaced residents and it’s a privilege to be there helping out.
“The only reason we become firefighters is so we can help. And we know we’re helping, we’re in the community and the people that are left behind, they’re constantly thanking us, which we don’t need because we’re there to help,” he said.
They met the essential services workers who remained in the town doing a myriad of jobs, including feeding pets left behind.
“There was a guy, his whole job was driving around feeding the dogs that were left behind. Every day, and he didn’t miss a day,” Smith said.
“These are the people that were left behind and still doing the best they could for their neighbours, so it made it pretty easy for us to go hard too.”
Smith said when his crew left Lynn Lake the fire was thought to be under control. In the weeks since it had taken a turn for the worse again.
Sacrifice, Support and Commitment
The decision to volunteer and go fight fires in other communities requires the support of your home community, your family and your job, so it’s not something Smith takes lightly.
“You understand that you’re going to have to put your regular life on pause, but it’s totally worth it,” he said.
“And kudos to the city for letting us go. There’s a big balancing act, because our job is to protect Selkirk, so you have to balance sending guys away and making sure there’s still people here to protect the city. But the city let us go and it feels good.”
Gagne says the department takes several factors into consideration before green lighting members for wildfire response, including weather in the Selkirk area and what’s going on in the city and neighbouring municipalities. He says generally no more than four members are sent at one time.
“We need to consider also the chances of being needed in our own mutual aid district and what plans our own members have over the coming weeks, we need to make sure we have enough members to cover the city,” Gagne said.
“Our members are very good at keeping in touch, even if someone is just going into Winnipeg for a few hours, they’ll let me know. They may go out for the night or can’t get away from work right at the time of the page. We have an amazing fire family and if it was needed, they would either stick around or cancel plans.”
