BARRHEAD - Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS) members are among the hundreds of firefighters who have joined the province's larger wildfire-fighting efforts.
For about the last three weeks, multiple BRFS two-person crews have joined a provincial task force helping local firefighting efforts to battle the Semo Complex wildfire in Garden River.
The Semo Complex is an out-of-control group of wildfires in the High Level forest area and has forced over 5,500 people out of their homes in three communities, Fox Lake, Garden River and John D'Or Prairie of the Little Red River Cree Nation.
Fire chief Gary Hove said the crews, along with a water tender joined the firefighting effort.
The first crew BRFS sent were deputy chief Ted Amos and Rueben Aarsen, relieved by captains Leo Knoll and Craig Plitt and then by Calvin Viersen and Aarsen in his second tour.
"One day, they did help extinguish a structure fire with the tender, but mostly it's been structure protection, setting up sprinklers, that sort of thing," he said.
As for potentially lending support to help battle the wildfire in Jasper National Park, Hove said that when the province issued an "all call" to fire departments, he offered the department's "little rapid-wildland truck" and their aerial/ladder truck Tower 6.
The rugged, self-contained truck is a valuable and sought-after piece of equipment for wildfires due to its size and ability to drive over rough terrain where other units could not go.
"They told us they were equipped enough for the evening but would include the units in the queue of available equipment," he said.
In recent years, BRFS firefighters and equipment have been dispatched to help other municipalities combat wildfires as part of joint provincial task forces.
In 2023, BRFS firefighters helped in the firefighting efforts in Yellowknife, Hay River, Rainbow Lake, Peavine Métis Settlement and as part of a joint rapid attack force in Peace River. Closer to home, BRFS also sent firefighters and equipment to the Lac Ste. Anne Lessard Lake Estate and the Drayton Valley firefighting efforts.
In June 2019, Amos and Capt. Leo Knol and Engine 5 were deployed to help battle the Chuckegg Creek Fire near High Level.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
