There’s the standard children’s rhyme about the little piggy that went to market and then there’s our version. No one in 1929 was singing the sad and true tale of almost three-dozen prime porkers that became burnt bacon just days before they were slated for sale.
That year St. Albert suffered two major fires on Mission Hill. A few weeks after the original convent suffered $1,000 in damage from one blaze, another inferno took out the convent’s piggery, roasting 35 pigs alive with damages totalling approximately $3,000.
These are only two of the fiery and tragic tales that have occurred over 100 years of organized fire services in St. Albert. Originally established in 1910 when our fair city was a small town, St. Albert Fire Services (SAFS) once was a volunteer brigade formed after a committee determined the need, using town coffers to purchase a few fire carts. Leon Levasseur’s Livery Stable became the impromptu and first fire station.
Sadly, fire suppression sprinkler systems were decades away. The following year, the stable itself went up in flames taking two fire carts with it. Then the Astoria Hotel had a fire, forcing the community to buy two new carts, recruit more volunteers and compensate the fire chief with an honorarium of $25 per year.
That was 1912. St. Albert now has three fire stations, the newest one having just opened to much acclaim for its LEED gold environmental certification and top of the line functionality. We also have a new aerial truck that has a ladder capable of reaching the tallest building in the city. There has never been a better time for former fire chief Len Clark to call it the high quality, professional organization that it is today.
“They’ve come a long way and the city should be proud of it. The city should understand that they probably have one of the best fire services in the province.”
Like moths to a flame
The memories of the Levasseur Livery fire have long since faded but recent and current members of the team have their own stories to tell. Talking with these men and women, it’s clear they have a strong love of the community that they serve and the fraternity to which they belong.
Clark joined the force in 1976 as a young man who always had an interest in uniformed public service.
“I couldn’t see myself doing the 9 to 5 office thing. I gravitated toward the military, the police … the fire service is the one that intrigued me the most.”
Sitting at a desk was the last thing that he wanted. After a stint with the police he was called for airport fire service duty, but the one from St. Albert shortly afterwards held more sway. Some colleagues suggested there would be more action with a city department. They were right.
Soon after he was posted as the first firefighter at Fire Station No. 2 in the early 1980s, there was an alarm at the St. Albert Inn. It was bitterly cold and the crew had to spend 18 hours tackling the flames on scene, chipping ice off of the hoses while staving off the damage from the higher levels. The end result was the unusual visual effect of a gutted main floor with everything above still intact, making it look like it stood on stilts.
Still it was better than the situation faced by former volunteer firefighter Paul Poulin who served in the 1960s. They had fire trucks but no oxygen masks. Luckily there weren’t too many blazes on his watch, but he laughed when he admitted that he had to hold his breath on occasion.
“That was OK,” he said. “We didn’t have many fires we had to go in [that we would have needed] to use that equipment.”
Of course, there were other more trying situations like the December 2005 fire that engulfed an apartment complex at the top of McKenney Avenue. You can’t win everything, Clark said, but what keeps them all going is the support of the entire firefighting community.
“You spend most of your time training but you develop a sense of brotherhood, of family, for the people you work with because you’re not only working with them, you’re living in the fire station with them all day. They really become a secondary family so you develop a very close bond. Plus you get into some stuff that nobody can appreciate except people who have experienced it with you. That’s the highlight: the camaraderie, the brotherhood.”
That brotherhood is a universal force that you always carry with you.
“It’s in your blood. It’s clichĂ© but ‘once a firefighter, always a firefighter.’ You’re never going to get it out of your system.”
Poulin concurred, saying he still keeps in touch with some of his brethren from more than 40 years ago.
From the ashes to the stars
In January SAFS unveiled a new commemorative crest and announced a series of celebrations to raise the department’s profile within various community events like the Olympic Torch Relay. You will next notice them involved in two May events: the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival and the Rainmaker Rodeo Parade, with other special celebrations to come.
The city is also looking for citizens to share in the celebration by sharing their stories, whether it’s related to an emergency situation or a school presentation. You can send your story through www.stalbert.ca/fire-emergency-services.
Fire chief Ray Richards is very proud to lead St. Albert’s fire personnel into the future where the recent land annexation will mean even greater growth — and demand — for emergency response personnel. He has no qualms in stating that not only is the current level of service top notch, but that the force is up to the task of handling whatever comes its way.
“It’s excellent. The guys and gals have done a tremendous job of keeping ahead of the times. There has been a lot of changes in the last three to four years,” he said, referring to the new station and equipment. Reiterating Clark’s earlier point, Richards said, “We’ve come a long, long ways.”
