Two members of the Altona/Rhineland Emergency Response (ARES) team were recently recognized for their years of service.
Pump operator Dave Fehr has served with the Altona fire department for 25 years, and assistant chief Mark Krahn also reached that 25 year milestone.
Fehr initially followed in his two older brothers’ footsteps the year after he graduated from high school.
“They made it look fun and appealing, so I thought I’d give it a try,” said Fehr, who learned quickly that there was plenty of work involved. “The level of training was different. We were still doing the ambulance work, so for the first two or three years, I was doing that as well.”
Fehr has also earned his first responder level one training and has completed numerous other courses.
His favourite thing about being a firefighter is the team aspect of it.
“There’s a fellowship that comes with it. They’re a great bunch of people. When you share certain experiences. When you go through those things, you know you don’t go through them alone. You go through them as a team.
“Through the years, we’ve had some pretty bad accident scenes, and you have a chance to surround each other and keep each other accountable for the things we do and not keep it bottled up inside.”
The stress of the job is obvious, but unless you’ve been immersed in it, it’s hard to fully understand, he said.
“You learn not to keep it bottled up inside and separate yourself from the situation at the moment. You deal with the emotion when the job is done. You don’t want to feel guilty that you could have done more. Often, first responders feel that guilt. But we have to tell ourselves, this isn’t our emergency. We’re there to help.
“Sometimes people think that when you do these things, you’re supposed to be tough. That’s not the case. If you bottle it up, it can get worse. It can affect your home life. Stuff like that. A lot of the guys will go to new rookies when they see stuff like that and check with them and ask how it’s going. When they’re new, there could be some trauma there.”
Fehr said there are many perks to the job, too.
“Seeing how the community comes together is very rewarding. We had a trailer fire here in town and there was a family that didn’t have insurance or a lot afterwards. And so, one of our guys sent a message out, and within a few hours, they had furniture and clothing and bedding, and that’s really the heart of it. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, when you’re in trouble and you need help, that’s what this group is for, and it’s exciting when you see that happen.”
Feeling appreciated by the community is another perk, and there’s a level of gratitude for employers as well. In his day job, Fehr works at Friesens Corporation.
Family has also had to understand.
“I met my wife after I joined, and from the beginning it was never a question of whether I should be here or not. It was a good thing, you should do it, and we’ll just work around it. It’s been a big part of life for 25 years and it would be weird not to be a part of it.”
What would he tell someone who is thinking about becoming a volunteer firefighter?
“I would tell them there’s a lot of good experiences, and a lot of good training, not just for firefighting, but also for life. You work with good people, relying on others. Serving the community is important. It’s not about accolades, it’s the satisfaction of helping and getting things done, and working with people that consider you family and will help you out if you ever need it.”
Krahn has also racked up a lot of training including courses in pump operation, vehicle extrication, fire fighting level 1, fire behaviour and trench rescue just to name a few.
“I think the most concerning part is the mental part of the job. You’re always concerned about what your next call might be. We always think about that,” he said.
“When young members join, we always think about how we can get the work done but also shield them from what they might see. So that’s the balance we must work with. Sometimes calls can create questions and make you second guess what you did, and the things you can’t unsee. For young people joining now, that’s the biggest concern for me.”
His advice is to find people you can trust and confide in, he added.
“We find people who keep it in are the ones who struggle longer. And being in a small town adds an interesting dynamic because it quite likely is somebody you know or know of during a call.
“There are 30 members here in Altona. When you respond to emergencies and various things, there’s a bond that happens in the group because you physically worked with a scene, and you worked with it emotionally as well. It brings people together,” said Krahn, who works at Greenvalley Equipment.
“We’re meeting people at the worst moment of their lives and developing coping skills not just to help them, but to also shield ourselves. I’m thankful we can serve the community this way. I always say the longer I do this, the more I’m okay with the pager not going off, but we’re always ready whenever the community needs us.”
