Burning desire drives squad

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This year's trophy for the best national Aboriginal fire department couldn't have gone to a more deserving crew.

Nicknamed the "infants" of Canadian First Nation fire departments, the team from Gesgapegiag in eastern Quebec have only been around for two years, but their diligence and commitment to safety has earned them recognition as Canada's finest.

Gesgapegiag Fire Chief Jacques Martin said his team, although young, is motivated by the memory of a tragedy which happened three years ago in the small community of 400.

On Mother's Day, 1995, a house fire killed a young, pregnant mother and her two-year-old child. With no fire department in the community at that time, the people could only stand and watch as the flames carried out their tragic course.

"So the guys, we have said: 'Never again,'" Martin explained.

The department officially started up six months after the tragedy, and the incident remains the driving force behind the fire fighters' commitment to the job.

At the awards banquet following the national competition, there was a minute of silence for victims of fires, including the woman from Gesgapegiag.

By most standards, the Gesgapegiag Fire Department does not have a lot of fancy equipment, but Martin said that is not a concern.

"It's not what you have, but how you use what you have," he said.

Already in its short life, the fire department has won the Quebec regional Native fire fighter competition twice and placed fourth at last year's national competition.

Not bad for a bunch of guys who don't even have a pumper truck in their fire hall. Martin described their fire truck as "a half ton with a ladder, a pump and a few hoses on it."

But it gets the job done, he added.

The National competition was held at the Tsawassen First Nation in British Columbia over the Sept. 15 weekend. Seven teams entered the eighth annual competition, which was sponsored by the First Nations Emergency Services Society in British Columbia, and by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

The competition included timed events for putting on breathing apparatus and 'bunker gear," a bucket brigade relay race where water is transferred from one barrel to another, a water hose target shoot, and hose rolling.

The Alberta team from Hobbema came in a close second with Manitoba's Cross Lake fire department grabbing third spot.

Saskatchewan's Muskoday fire department tied with the crew from Bella Coola, British Columbia for fourth spot. Team Ontario from Garden River First Nation was sixth and the team from Big Cove First Nation in New Brunswick placed seventh. The members of the Big Cove team took home the prize for most sportsmanlike team.

As for the winner's prize, it's now proudly displayed at the Gesgapegiag band office.