Volunteer firefighter calendar raises funds, awareness

What started as a fundraiser has grown into an awareness-raising project that unites volunteer firefighters across the province on the pages of a calendar. 

“Volunteer firefighters are in desperate need of a voice,” said Fire Within chairman Chad Sartison. “Every time people leave city limits they’re in volunteers’ hands.”

Sartison, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Priddis, a town southwest of Calgary, said it’s common for people to assume career firefighters are serving an area. “It’s our greatest challenge because people don’t know we’re out there,” he said. 

The group responsible for putting together the Fire Within calendar was in Jasper last week and stopped in to the firehall for a visit as the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade makes its final push to sell the remainder of its calendars.

Though Jasper’s department is relatively well-funded, the approximately 3,500 volunteer fire departments across the country face challenges, not only when it comes to purchasing equipment, but also for recruiting. 

“Pressures have made it harder to attract people,” Sartison said. “When we get out and kids crawl around the trucks, our dream is we’re creating future volunteers. Public acknowledgment helps us recruit and retain.”

All funds stay in the communities where they’re raised, and in Jasper they will go toward supporting a local couple whose child is facing a serious illness. 

The $20 calendars are going to be sold at the craft fair on Nov. 23 and during Moonlight Madness. They are also available from firefighters and at Around the Corner, ATB Financial, Avalanche Esso, Jasper Liquor Store and Wine Cellar, The Other Paw Bakery, Rocky Mountain Roasters, Source for Sports and Tags Convenience Store.

As an incentive, departments that sell all their calendars will be entered in a contest put on by the Fire Within to win a $1,200 fire knockout tool, a useful but unaffordable piece of equipment. Also up for grabs is a trip for two firefighters to the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis in April. 

“We will be in the running, mark my words,” said fire chief Greg Van Tighem.

Members of Jasper’s brigade appear on the July page of the 2009 calendar, along with 11 other fire departments.

“The calendar is our brochure, it’s meant to tell our story,” Sartison said. “There are so many heroes who give 30 years of their life and never ask for anything back.”