Firefighting is a great job --chief

Page 11

If policing doesn't grab you, perhaps you like things a little hotter. Try your hand at becoming a professional firefighter.

Fire Chief Wayne Snitzler of the Westside Fire and Rescue Department in the town of Westbank in British Columbia's Okanagan region always knew he wanted to be a firefighter. His dad had been for 25 years before him. He virtually grew up in the fire hall, and so at age 19 while going to college, he started his official career as a volunteer firefighter in Surrey.

"I've always loved this job," he said. "I've got a job here that when I wake up in the morning, I look forward to going to work. It's not just a job. It becomes a way of life."

Of Cree and Metis heritage, in May 1982 Snitzler became a full-time firefighter with the City of Surrey. He worked his way up the ladder to eventually become captain of the training division until August 1996. Then, wanting to spread his wings and see what's over the horizon, he applied for the fire chief's position in Westbank.

He was the chosen one.

"I used to say I'd never leave the Surrey fire department," he said recently, "but when I came here as new fire chief, it was really refreshing because it was entirely new, a new challenge, and it forced me to grow."

He is responsible for a busy operation that includes four separate fire stations in a town with a population of 30,000 people. His department also provides fire service on contract for nearby Westbank First Nation. A heavy load, but he enjoys the burdens of such responsibility.

"I tell people, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would. Every day you go to work you don't know what you're going to be faced with. The career has grown along with the responsibility, and I've still got a long ways to go."

As if all that activity wasn't enough for the 51-year-old, along the way he married and now has six children-four boys and two girls. He coaches Westbank's children in hockey and baseball and goes to the gym at least four times a week. In summer, he plays baseball on the fire hall team.

He would like to see more First Nations youth choose firefighting as a career.

"Try and volunteer in your local fire department in your community," he advises. "If it doesn't have one, start one. You should try to go to a school to get accreditation as a firefighter. Most provinces have some kind of training academy. It is very important in high school to keep up your academic standing in math and science. Firefighting includes a lot of technical requirements, computers, dealing with chemicals, complex firefighting equipment, the physics of fire. Good high schooling is essential."

While all that technical knowledge sounds daunting, Fire Chief Snitzler has some reassuring words.

"Don't let anybody ever tell you that you cannot do something, because if you really put your mind to it and take the time to pursue your dreams, you will go on and make something of yourself. If I'm here as fire chief, then anything is possible!"