Fort Assiniboine Fire Department has been busy

FORT ASSINIBOINE – The Fort Assiniboine Fire Department shared their 2024 activities, successes and milestones on their Facebook page recently.

“Team members and volunteers come through the door with the right attitude, the desire to learn and to help others,” said Dustin Williams, Deputy Chief of the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department, 18 years on the job.

“Everything is just like all these puzzle pieces that have to be put together to actually make the full picture.”

Deputy Chief Williams acknowledges the supportive fire divisions, non-profit organizations, generous businesses, community members and the Woodlands County leadership for all the successes achieved.

Lynn Marcellus was awarded her 10 Years of Service award and Devin Williams received his 15 years of service award.

Rob Kerr and Ashley Marcellus were promoted to Lieutenants.

There were 80 responses to emergencies in 2024 of which 46 were mutual aid responses supporting Emergency Medical Services.

The team responded and assisted with 8 grass/wildfire events, two structural fires and one carbon monoxide leak.

Fort Assiniboine firefighters were in Jasper in the first days of the wildfire disaster assisting in combatting the flames.

Williams commented that the devastation was what set the Jasper fire apart from other wildfires he has attended. They could not have accomplished wildfire assistance without the support of the neighbouring fire departments, Barrhead, Swan Hills, Goose Lake and others.

There were eight vehicle accidents that required services from the Fort Assiniboine Fire department. They supported near-by fire departments on eight separate occasions.

There were six false alarms calls, and in the Sandhills there was one ATV rescue.

The Fort Assiniboine Fire Department is part of the Alberta First Responder agency providing medical care and treatments depending on their training.

Grant funding was received which enabled the purchase of needed equipment to register the fire station as a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) site for live fire training and increase training opportunities.

They received money from the Fire Services Training Program grant from the Government of Alberta.

Several companies supported this progress including Pembina Pipelines, TC Energy, Bohn Pumpjack & Crane Service, and Z-Rod Welding & Fabrication.

The NFPA works to provide knowledge and learning to increase safety to a higher level based on global input experts.

The team has been self-motivated to complete training on their weekends and attend regular Monday evening training.

Many of the NFPA courses have been facilitated by inhouse instructors. Fire Chief Devin Williams and Deputy Chief Dustin Williams are NFPA Fire Service Instructors at level 1 and level 2 respectively.

This enables team members to complete their NFPA 1001 level one and two locally.

Jeff Schulte, Gerry Schulte, Laura Lizee, Ervin Gallatin, Ashley Marcellus and Robb Kerr successfully completed their NFPA 1001 Level 1 training.

Ice Rescue Training was completed on Mosquito Lake to practice the skills learned in the course.

The Fort Assiniboine Fire Department also partnered up for a live fire training event in November where the old Camp Creek store was safely burnt down.

Williams honoured Gary Hove, Fire Chief of Barrhead Fire Services, for the extra-ordinary support he and the Barrhead Fire Department have done to assist the Fort’s training efforts and services.

Hove has been involved with evaluating and proctoring exams for the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department.

In 2024 Barrhead Fire department opened their training grounds and hosted the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department for their training.

Williams was adamant that if it wasn't for the Barrhead Fire Department and Hove they wouldn't necessarily be where they are at right now.

There are three Red Cross First Aid/CPR Instructors certified within the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department: Devin Williams, Dustin Williams and Ashley Marcellus.

Some of the other courses completed included First Aid re-certification, Dangerous Goods operation 470, S300 basic fireground operations, S500 on scene support operations and S700 structural firefighting.

The Fort Assiniboine Fire Department supports safety-first community training like Fire Smart, hosts open houses, participate in events, and facilitates a family friendly haunted house each year at Halloween.