A pair of long-time Roland Fire Department personnel are retiring at the end of the year. Kevin Brown and Murray Peirson have served the community as firemen for a combined 72 years.
Brown has been a member of the Roland Fire Department for 32 years, serving the community in which he grew up.
“I’m getting too old for those 2 a.m. calls,” he said. “After a few years on the job, the fire department becomes a way of life, and your heart has to be in the job at hand. If I hadn’t enjoyed doing this, I would have quit years ago. Seeing the advancement in communication, equipment and technology has been great. Any time you save a house or property from fire or flood, or help car accident patients, you know why you joined in the first place.”
In post-retirement, Brown is still a competitive trap shooter and will also stay busy coaching.
“Trap shooting is like golf,” Brown said. “There’s a tournament on every weekend of the summer. You just have to figure out how far you want to drive and try to compete at your favourite places.”
Peirson is also stepping down after a whopping 40 years with the Roland Fire Department.
“I’m stepping down because I’ve served for 40 years, and I feel that’s been long enough,” he said. “I’m hoping to make room for new volunteers from our community.”
Peirson noted it’s been fulfilling to serve the RM of Roland as a fire chief, deputy chief and firefighter over the years.
“It’s rewarding to help others when it’s needed and see all the changes over the years with communication, equipment and training,” he said.
Some of the moments that stand out for Peirson include being involved with purchasing new equipment, such as a fire vehicle for the fire department and having input on other equipment purchased.
“It was also nice to be able to help people in need, whether it be in fires or vehicle accidents. Before 911 was available, one of my first calls ever, before we had pagers, was a call from a firefighter’s wife that there was a truck on fire at Mr. Martens farm. I didn’t know where that was, and I was told to drive toward Kane and look for smoke.”
Peirson will still keep busy going forward with other community volunteering that he already does, in addition to still working full-time at his other job.
The Roland Fire Department is always recruiting new members to join its ranks, which typically include 14 to 18 members. People interested in joining the Roland Fire Department, can get in touch with fire chief Donald Roy at don_kelly@live.ca or 204-750-2460.
“Murray and Kevin stepping down from our department will be a loss with a combined 72 years of knowledge,” Roy said. “Our members including myself have always gained valuable lessons and know-how from them both and they were always available to mentor our new members. With that being said, our department has never been stronger with all our members coming together to serve our community in times of need.”
