Barrhead firefighters help to save Fort Simpson from wildfire
Fire service sends two fire trucks with six firefighters for 14-day deployment to assist in structure protection
BARRHEAD - A small contingent of Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS) firefighters has joined the effort to help save the Village of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., from a wildfire that is threatening the community.
The fire started on June 26 and, as of July 2, is only a few hundred metres from breaching the community's borders at certain locations. The 1,300 or so residents have been under a mandatory evacuation order since Sunday, June 28.
At about 3 a.m., six BRFS firefighters, including deputy fire chief Ted Amos, Capt. Leo Knol, Gregory Saumer, Rueben Aarsen, Capt. Hielke Vandermeulen and Tyler Kalmbach along with Engine 36 and Tender 5 left for Fort Simpson.
BRFS fire chief Gary Hove said Alberta's Provincial Operations Centre called him on Monday, June 29, at about 11 a.m., about potential personnel and equipment available to join the larger firefighting efforts in Fort Simpson.
Hove then asked for potential volunteers, specifically members with Wildland Urban Interface training and experience, via the fire department’s I Am Responding cell phone app, and informed the Provincial Operations Centre that they had two units and several firefighters ready to make the trip.
“By 4 p.m., we learned the deployment was a go, and that they would take both units, telling them that they would be on the road by 4 a.m,” he said. “We were fortunate that we received the request. It can come really quickly. A lot of times we get contacted at night and we send guys out at 2 a.m.”
However, before the firefighters could make the more than 1,300-kilometre, two-day trek, they had to prepare the units and themselves for the extended 14-day deployment. They were told they needed to be fully self-sufficient, including shelters, beds, and other camping gear and food.
Hove said they usually keep about 25 boxes of ready-to-eat meals, commonly known as MREs, at the fire hall for shorter deployments. MREs are fully pre-cooked, shelf-stable rations originally designed for military field conditions. Providing about 1,200 calories per pouch, they include a flameless ration heater requiring only a splash of water.
“For calls closer to home, we usually get food from local restaurants or grocery stores, but for six people going for a minimum of 10 days (not including the four travelling days to and from), it's going to be at least like that 180 meals, going to somewhere like Fort Simpson, where supplies may be far and few in between, we have to send them with enough resources” he said.
To make up the difference, a quick trip to Kodiak Lake Hunting and Fishing cleaned them out of all their stock of freeze-dried meals.
As for specific duties, firefighting would likely be handled by structural protection.
“The water tanker (tender) is to be used for water supply for the engine, or supplying water sprinklers, managing water supplies, ensuring the pumps are running, things like that," the fire chief said.
Hopefully, Hove said, the situation in Fort Simpson eases, and the Barrhead crew can come home after their initial 14-day deployment, but the fire conditions in the Northwest Territories remain volatile, and they could be asked to extend their service.
“We’ll have to determine that when the time comes. What type of vehicle, who can potentially go to swap people out, how many will be required, and what kind of supplies will they need?” he said, adding some of the BRFS firefighters have noted they could potentially extend their tour to up to a month.
Hove also said this is one of the reasons the fire department opted to replace its retiring wildland unit, Engine 33, with another, improved unit with greater capabilities in 2025.
“We bought it with the understanding that not only will it serve our community for years to come, but the greater good, helping other communities in the province.”
In June 2019, BFRS firefighters and equipment were deployed to help battle the Chuckegg Creek Fire near High Level.
In 2023, BFRS firefighters supported firefighting efforts in Yellowknife, Hay River, Rainbow Lake, and the Peavine Métis Settlement, and as part of a joint rapid attack force in Peace River. Closer to home, BRFS also sent firefighters and equipment to the Lac Ste. Anne Lessard Lake Estate and the Drayton Valley firefighting efforts.
In 2024, BRFS firefighters joined the broader provincial efforts to combat the Semo Complex wildfire in Garden River, in the High Level Forest Management area.
