Longtime local firefighters were awarded for their many years of dedicated service during an appreciation banquet on Saturday (Oct. 17), while Squamish Fire Rescue's new deputy fire chief, Mike Adams, was welcomed to the organization.
Fourteen of the 15 firefighters praised were volunteers, always ready to reach for buzzing pagers on late nights to risk their lives for a call. Squamish is blessed to have so many people willing to commit their time to the safety of the community, said fire chief Ray Saurette.
"That's a huge amount of dedication," he said. "I don't know what it is about the fire service and people wanting to do that. I'm not sure about ambulance or police or service clubs, but I'm not sure if you can find that many people in an organization to put in that amount of time and really participate."
Squamish's most veteran volunteer, Uffe Hansen, was recognized by the District of Squamish for 30 years of dedicated service at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park. As of November, he will be eligible to receive the federal government's 40-year exemplary service bar, having also spent 10 years as a volunteer in Fernie, 小蓝视频 before coming to Squamish.
Described as a mainstay, Hansen is always eager to represent the department during charitable events and fundraisers. He's also one of Squamish Fire Rescue's most consistent responders, said Saurette.
"Uffe has done it faithfully. When you join this organization, you join it at all perils to everything else. If it's your anniversary and the pager goes off, 'Sorry dear.'"
Dennis Reed was recognized by the district for 35 years of devoted service and for becoming a recipient of the 35 year provincial long service bar. Quiet yet effective, Reed leads by example and has become a mentor for many young up-and-coming firefighters, said Saurette
"He doesn't show stress but he gets the job done."
Roy Ramage, Don Schultheiss and David Sweeney were honoured by the district for 25 years of service and are recipients of the provincial 25 year long service medal.
The district also recognized Russ Inouye for 20 years of dedicated service and for receiving his exemplary service medal from the federal government. Inouye started as a volunteer and worked his way up to career firefighting. He works as the department's training officer and said a true love for the job kept him going all these years.
"I like being able to help people in a time of need and working with the group of firefighters we have here. The camaraderie is important," said Inouye.
New deputy chief Mike Adams, who is joining Squamish Fire Rescue after working as North Vancouver's operations and logistics assistant fire chief, said he is looking forward to experiencing the camaraderie in his home town of eight years. No longer commuting, Adams can spend more time enhancing the department through his extensive experience in emergency management and developing special operations programs.
"I see the great potential that Squamish has, not just as a community, but the fire department on its own," said Adams. "There are a lot of opportunities here to move the department forward."
Adams formally takes over from retired deputy chief Steve Virgint on Nov. 2. He will have a strong contingent of more than 60 volunteers, including nine who were recognized by the district on Saturday for five years of service: Ricci Bedry, Jason Brubacher, Brad Cameron, Dave Gray, Trevor Kranenburg, Jordan Lawrence, Grant Murray, Leo Rodriquez and Colin Saurette.
