Rural firefighter recruiting efforts are in full swing across the province, and numerous departments in northwestern Alberta have launched a joint recruitment campaign ahead of the anticipated 2024 wildfire season.
Tim Harris, Fire Chief for the Town of Peace River and the County of Northern Lights says he has seen an “uptick” in recruitment in the region, despite seemingly low numbers of casual, volunteer firefighters across the province.
“Recruitment and retention, in volunteer, part-time, casual fire departments has always been an issue across this area and across the province,” he says. “The number of volunteer firefighters across the country has dropped by thousands over the last few years, we’re all looking for new members, all fire departments in this region.”
The recruitment campaign, which includes fire departments from Peace River, the County of Northern Lights, High Level, and Zama City, presents a unique opportunity for recruits to be reimbursed for their time in training, which Chief Harris says opens up further opportunities for residents who struggle to find the time while working a full-time job.
Harris adds that currently, casual firefighters assist the department with municipal fires and wildland fires alike, and the need for more bodies continues as demands are simply higher due to the size of the regions affected by wildfires in the north.
“The community in the north here, we are spread out, with some of the large wildland fires, it’s hard for some of the volunteer, casual firefighters to be off work for a week to go and fight a wildland fire,” he says. “We are calling on more from these casual firefighters so the more we can have on a department, it spreads the workload a little bit.”
Interested residents can apply through their local fire department’s website or through phone.
