Firemen's Ball

Tonight was a celebration for the Kindersley Fire and Rescue Brigade. The Brigade is in their 105th year of serving and protecting Kindersley.

The Firemen's Ball. May 30, 2015

This has been a very busy year so far. The highest number of calls the Brigade has done in one year is 175. From January until the end of April the Brigade has made 70 calls.

In his remarks this evening Chief Hope talked of expectations:

• that the appropriate resources will be available for all incidents,
• that the responses will be timely,
•  and that the service provided will be appropriate for the incident.

Chief Hope also spoke about the expectations of his Brigade:

• once signed up there are no volunteers, you are expected to show up for training and calls,
• you will do your best.

Serving Kindersley in the Brigade are 22 active members who participate in aggressive training.

2015 Kindersley Fire and Rescue Brigade. May 30, 2015

Members of the Brigade, and their years of service, include: Chief Hope 34 years and 17 years as Chief, Deputy Chief Rod Stevens 29 years, Deputy Chief Jeff Soveran 25 years, Deputy Chief Randy Vold 5 years, Deputy Chief David Burke 37 years, Randy Schmidt 13 years, Adam Wake 7 years, Dakota Tanner 3 years, Myles Perrin 20 years, Wayne Bliel 17 years, Kyla Jeffries ?, Dan Bular 4 years, John Schneider 3 years, Aaron Georget 2 years, Bryan ? 1 year, Cody Welker 1 year, Ron Cales 1 year, Cody Gutenburg 1 year Olga ? <1 year, Justin Smith <1 year, Jeremy Otto 1 year, and the youngest member is Cory Shields with less than a year. (I apologize for spelling errors, missed names and incorrect years of service)

The leadership team has been together for a while and is training new members to take over the leadership.

David Burke, Rod Stevens, Randy Vold, Ron Hope, Jeff Soveran. May 30, 2015

A special award was made this evening to Myles Perrin. Myles has served for 20 years on the Brigade. Chief Hope presented to Myles, on behalf of the Governor General, the Exemplary Services Medal. Congratulations Myles and thank you for your professionalism, expertise, and dedication!

David Burke, Rod Stevens, Randy Vold, Ron Hope, Jeff Soveran celebrating Myles recognition from the Governor General. May 30, 2015.

My evening's remarks are below.

·         It is an honour to be here tonight, thank you to the organizing committee for the invitation

·         Thank you to the members of the Kindersley Fire and Rescue Brigade for your service and commitment to Kindersley and West Central Saskatchewan

·         I am proud to be your Mayor.

·         As I meet with my colleagues in West Central Saskatchewan and around the province your reputation for professionalism, expertise, and dedication precedes me

·         Encompassed in Council’s Strategic Plan and Ends Policies are references to having a safe community

·         As such you have a key role helping us identify risk to our people and our property

·         Because of your leadership we now have a new Fire Ban Bylaw

·         This is an important bylaw because the best definition of success you may have are the fires you have prevented. Thank you.

·         The Fire Chief has become a part of the leadership team by being involved in Director level activities such as his participation in our organization review and the evaluation process for our CAO

·         Moving forward I am looking forward to the work of the Fire Department as we collaborate to ensure that our future prosperity is being safeguarded as we discuss levels of service for the community

·         This is an important conversation we must have to ensure the town’s ongoing success and that we have a vibrant, dynamic, and successful fire department

·         You, our Kindersley firefighters, are some of our greatest partners in keeping Kindersley safe

·         More often than not, you are the first responders to appear on scene in an emergency

·         As first responders you often do not know what dangers you might face when you are responding to a call

·         Thank you for your bravery, persistence, and dedication

·         You are held in high regard in Kindersley and West Central Saskatchewan for you professionalism and discipline

·         I often find it hard to believe that you are a non-career brigade given the work you have done knowing that you are installers, mechanics, managers, and more

·         However, as soon as emergencies arise, you become some of the bravest among us, committing yourself to face dangers that many of us would not have the fortitude to do ourselves

·         It may not always be readily apparent but Council and Administration of the Town of Kindersley appreciates each of you and your service

·         As do our residents appreciate you, as do those of neighbouring communities, who so many times this department has lent aid to support during their emergencies

·         I am proud to be the Mayor of our Fire Department and I want to encourage you that I, and Council, remains committed to working with you to build a strong and sustainable fire department

·         We will do our part to see that the new fire hall gets built as soon as possible, and that the equipment and resources you need to do your job can be provided to you as best we can

·         Thank you for the invitation to be here with you tonight and congratulations to each of you

Finally, I'm looking forward to seeing you at Council's appreciation bbq on the 29th.