by Evan Matthews | [email protected]
Over the next couple of weeks, The Fitzhugh will take a closer look at some of the winners from the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce’s annual ambassador and business awards gala.
Who better to be an ambassador for Jasper than those who run at danger while others are running away from it?
No one, says the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce.
“It was a surprise for us,” says Don Smith, a member of the brigade. “We didn’t really expect it, and many of us didn’t know about the award until we were nominated.”
The criteria for the Community Ambassador Award states an individual or organization must have demonstrated leadership in organizing an event or completing a significant project in the past year enhancing the community.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade went up against Jasper Towing and Habitat for the Arts for the award. Fighting fires and responding to emergencies like serious auto collisions are just one aspect of the community service members participate in year-round.
“Nobody joins the fire department for the accolades, but we are a service community group and it’s nice to be recognized,” says Jeff Keogan, one of members who attended the chamber gala to accept the award.
“It’s tough to speak for 30 other individuals… But this is the community acknowledging our sacrifice… To volunteer my time to the fire department felt like a good way to tell Jasper I love living here.”
Keogan said he joined to give back to the community; the community supported he and his family since they arrived from Saskatchewan in 1984.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade is made up of 30 Jasper residents who all joined for the same reason, according to Keogan: to give back to the community, and not just by fighting fires.
Every August the brigade hosts a pancake breakfast in support of the Jasper Rodeo. The brigade often will hold open houses at the fire hall, has active involvement in fire prevention week around town, participates in safety fairs, HAZMAT collection (disposal of hazardous materials), maintains Fireman’s Park, does safety talks at the old folks home, helps out with Pajama Day, Jasper in January and the Canada Day fireworks, just to name a few.
The brigade began to bridge gaps within the community as other community based organizations slowly started to dwindling, according to Smith.
“There used to be the Elks and Lions, the rotary clubs, for example,” says Smith.
“As some of the organizations like the Elks disappeared from town, there was a major gap in terms of helping out at community functions.”
Many of the town’s events now turn to the fire department for help, according to Smith, like the rodeo cleanups, dances, etc.
“We’re able to supply general manpower and support,” he says.
Of course, the brigade’s commitment extends beyond events.
In September, the Fitzhugh reported that brigade had responded to more calls in 2017 than it had over the same time period in 2015 or 2016. Most of the calls were said to be “highway calls,” and were related to Canada150 and the low value of the Canadian dollar, according to the brigade.
There is one misconception about Jasper’s fire brigade, according to Deputy Fire Chief Amy West, in that some people don’t understand the true level of volunteerism. Jasper is one of the few places left in which each individual member doesn’t receive monetary compensation, which is why the acknowledgment from the community means so much to the department.
For many of the brigade’s members, firefighting is the way of life.
“It runs in my blood,” says West. “It’s family values for me, too. My father was a volunteer firefighter, and my older sister; my two younger brothers and myself are, too.”
