New County District Fire Chief Dale Widsten is looking forward to making the jump from Charlie Lake, B.C. to the Town of Sexsmith.
“I’ve been running a department over here in Charlie lake for the last couple of years and this was just an opportunity to oversee more fire halls, reach out to bigger communities and help a lot more people.”
Widsten will oversee operations at the newly built fire hall in Sexsmith and also take care of operations for halls in La Glace, Teepee Creek and Bezanson. Widsten believes the experiences he’s had working in and running other volunteer fire departments will come in handy in his new role.
“Being a paid member of a volunteer fire hall, you’re kind of the go-to guy that does everything from doing all the paperwork and coordinating all the training to sweeping the floors at the end of practice sometimes too, so I’ve got experience in that and everything in between.”
The firefighter believes he can bring his knowledge of training to the department as well. He says he’s excited to take on more responsibility in a larger place, as Charlie Lake is home to just under 1,900 residents.
“It’s gonna be a new community, new people and new challenges. I’m also definitely looking forward to meeting the new crew… working with all the new stuff and getting to know everybody.”
Widsten takes over his role on Tuesday. This is a brand new position for the County of Grande Prairie.