The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor If you're not one of them, it is hard to comprehend. When everyone else backs away, they plow forward. Where everyone else feels fear, they feel courage. When everyone else needs help, they come to the rescue. 'It's in your blood,' says Ron Mendro. Mendro was among the past and present members of the Flin Flon Fire Department gathered over the long weekend to celebrate a remarkable milestone. After thousands of fierce blazes and hundreds of gallant members, the fire department marked its 75th anniversary of protecting Flin Flon people and property. Some 240 firefighters, spouses and guests filled the R.H. Channing Auditorium for a dinner and dance on Saturday, June 30, but it was the conversation that made the evening. For Mendro, a captain with the department, it was a chance to reflect on a childhood dream that came true. 'As a little kid, the fire truck goes by and you always think, 'Hey, that would be a good job,'' he says. 'So in my early 20s I put my name in at the fire department and they called me up, and I've been doing it for almost 30 years now.' Mendro's longevity is not uncommon. Over the past three-quarters of a century, the department has been blessed with a calibre of dedication rarely found in any profession, let alone one that puts lives on the line. It was back on July 7, 1937 that a town bylaw officially established the Flin Flon Fire Department to serve the isolated, then-booming community. Prior to that, a less organized firefighting crew responded to calls with only a hand-drawn hose cart and a 500-gallon chemical cart, both of which had been acquired from the Town of The Pas. By 1937, however, the Rotary Club had presented the new fire department with a Ford fire truck with a water capacity of 200 gallons. In the ensuing decades, the equipment would drastically improve. The trucks got bigger, the communications became faster and the protective gear grew more reliable. The training evolved as well, producing an increasingly knowledgeable, fit and up-to-the-task team of firefighters. 'We have gone through a lot of change in this fire department,' says Jim Petrie, the current fire chief. Kinship What hasn't changed is the staunch kinship amongst the men under the helmets. As much as training and knowledge, it is this camaraderie that has gotten the firefighters through the stress, sleepless nights and hazards inherent in the job. 'We've always been closely knit,' says Larry Willerton, who retired last year after 34 years with the department. 'It's always been a family inside the fire department, and you have to (have) that. That's the nucleus of the whole system.' But even the strongest nucleus can be no match for fire. In this battle, Mother Nature still holds the upper hand. See 'Promi...' on pg. 7 Continued from pg. 6 The importance of the Flin Flon Fire Department is illustrated by the many blazes that have destroyed prominent buildings across the community. There were the fires that ripped through Rex Theatre and the New Richmond Hotel in 1948 and 1959, respectively. In 1962, the original Flin Flon Hotel met a fiery fate, followed by the Royal Hotel in 1966. Terrace School burned down in 1963, and Flin Flon's first newspaper, The Flin Flon Daily Miner, succumbed to flames in 1966. Major fires in the 1970s, '80s and '90s struck Flin Flon Motors, North Avenue Lumber Yard, Fast Eddie's gas station, Modern Dairy Farm and Rex Video, among many others. Since arriving in Flin Flon in the fall of 1999, Petrie has witnessed more than his share of dramatic blazes. They include the 2000 inferno that reduced Eddie's IGA to rubble, and the 2002 fire that partially destroyed the Hemlock Dr. seniors apartments. There was also the 2006 Main St. blaze that ripped through the Mr. Ribs restaurant and threatened an entire block of downtown businesses. Just this past winter came the fire that ravaged the Bakers Narrows Lodge restaurant and convenience store. What gets lost in the headlines is the fact that such fires would wreak far more devastation if not for the swift actions of firefighters. 'The greatest resource that the fire department has is its firefighters,' Petrie says. Don Trudeau agrees. Now living in B.C., he was deputy chief and then chief of the department for most of the 1990s. He lauds how the protection of firefighters has become paramount in modern training. 'The safety factor has basically improved to the extent that safety is the number one priority,' Trudeau says. 'We train to make sure that...when we go out and do the job, we do it now to come home to our families.' Fortunately for Flin Flon, all firefighters over the last 75 years have made it home. There is no record of a member being killed in the line of duty, though the unspoken reality is that this is always possible. David Andres, currently a captain with the department, remembers a wall caving in during the 2000 blaze at the Flin Flon Ski Chalet. 'All I saw was a caribou rack coming at me,' he says. 'It just caught me by the feet. I managed to get out. It was scary for a minute.' Civic duty Unlike some of his colleagues, Andres is not a natural thrillseeker. He remains with the department out of a sense of civic duty, not to mention the chance to be with some of his very best friends. 'I don't know if we think about the dangerous part of the job rather than the camaraderie and helping the community,' he says. Throughout Saturday's banquet, the word 'brotherhood' was repeatedly used to describe the department. And while all 28 current members are men, the term has not always been fitting. In early 1999, Jennifer Daneliuk became the department's first female member, though she was not _ nor did she wish to be _ treated any differently. 'Everybody was amazing. Everybody was like, 'Good for you' and very supportive,' she recalls. Daneliuk was on the department for seven and a half years before work and family duties forced her to hang up her boots. See 'Colou...' on pg. 15 Continued from pg. 7 'I miss it lots,' she says. 'It was very exciting, the thrill of getting the call and jumping into your gear and jumping on the truck and going to help somebody.' Like many small-town fixtures, the Flin Flon Fire Department has seen plenty of colourful characters. They've had names like Otto Klutz, the first chief, and 'Moose' Dickens, a hulking captain. Then there was Chief Walter Redman, who used his powerful voice not only to yell orders, but also to sing in formal settings. In fact he was singing at the department's first-ever banquet, held in 1948, when a call came in. The men quickly ditched their Sunday bests in favour of boots and helmets, rushing to a chimney fire. A few days later, headlines in newspapers across the country read: 'Flin Flon's Nero sings while city burns.' In recent years, the department has become much greener as retiring veterans have made way for a new generation. Over half of current members have five or fewer years on the job. But you'd never know it from seeing them in action, in Capt. Mendro's view. 'We practice, we study, we read up on stuff and it shows on the fire scene,' he says. Such confidence is shared by Mayor George Fontaine, who occupied a seat at the head table at the anniversary banquet. 'I have the highest degree of faith in the gentlemen that I see out there that are taking care of (our) well-being,' he said in a speech to the crowd. 'We consider ourselves blessed.' If fulfilling their perilous job wasn't enough, Flin Flon firefighters have taken on a range of philanthropic efforts throughout their history. In 1950, for instance, the department raised $3,842 to purchase a much-needed ambulance and related medical equipment for the community. For the past 16 years, firefighters have hosted their 'Boot Drive' campaign to collect coins and bills in the fight against muscular dystrophy. In 2003 they launched the Beat the Chief challenge, an annual, open-to-the-public competition where firefighters complete a strenuous obstacle course at the Fire Hall. It was the brainchild of Chief Petrie, who aimed to promote physical health. He also wanted to give everyday citizens a glimpse into the cohesiveness on which the Flin Flon Fire Department has been _ and always will be _ built. 'We in this group are one large family, and as a family we have our ups and downs,' he says. 'Through adversity, hardship and training, we find our strength and become even stronger.' Of course if you're not one of them, it is hard to comprehenend.
