Firefighting is risky business

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Every year from late April to late October fire crews are assembled all across the Praires, sometimes risking their lives to complete their duties.

A dispatch office handles all the responsibility of putting together crews for fires in or outside the province.

Forestry services ensure all firefighters are certified and provide training for anyone interested in becoming a firefighter

Evans North Peigan from Buffalo Narrows has been a firefighter with Alberta Forestry Service since 1989. As one of the crew members out there on the fire line "firefighting is a good experience, you work hard our there" says North Peigan.

As a crew boss in training, North Peigan must ensure that crew members are concerned about safety at all times.

The crew boss decides whether crews remain on the job when a potential hazard such as winds becomes a problem. As a leader, another factor to consider on the fire is morale and fatigue problems before they lead to accidents.

Daily work schedules may vary according to the fire hazard condition. Crews are usually assembled and instructed by the forest officer in charge. Every day a crew boss recieves a briefing on hazards in the fire areas, weather conditions, type of terrain and equipment needed on the line. As a firefighter, North Peigan also fought fires in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

" I believe firefighting in different provinces helps the fire fighters to blend ideas and learn off of each other," says North Peigan.

El Ni?o gave us warmer tempertures, but also posed a problem for Canada's Forests.

Fires raged, crews were summoned, and fires were fought. North Peigan and hundreds of other firefighters managed to keep the forests green.