-by Rankin MacDonald
The sun came out to mark the occasion.
On Saturday afternoon, the Whycocomagh Volunteer Fire Department gathered their firefighters, friends, and neighbours to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the department.
It was a peaceful affair with MLA Kyle MacQuarrie and Warden Bonny MacIsaac making a visit where there were lots of summer foods and sweets.
Chief Shawn Harrison and Deputy Chief Dale MacAulay had the occasion bright and informative and just about everyone, firefighters and auxiliary, worked to make everyone welcome.
Former firefighter, Burton MacIntyre, in the dress suit he first received when he joined the department was asked to cut the anniversary cake with the chief and deputy chief.
This department keeps a close eye on the structures, the highway, and the trails.
And there is always need for new equipment and much training.
The old fire hall still stands in the village but the new century brought a spacious, bright area to do this training.
The old hall had outlived its purpose so the department went to work and with the provincial government’s help a new fire station was created.
There are 19 firefighters at Whycocomagh.
The brigade serves between 2,500 and 3,000.
Harrison, who has served as chief since 2015, has been on the department for 17 years.
He said he’d like to have about 25 members, so if you want to protect your place, join up. Those, there, are great to turn out and they have a good relationship with the We’koqma’q department next door.
The Whycocomagh department was incorporated in January 1951 with John Allen Waters as its first chief and Charles MacMillan as deputy chief. The first fire hall was built between 1963 and 1964, and its first major equipment acquisition came in 1968 when it purchased a 300-gallon tanker.
The department moved into its current hall in 2010 and was able to pay it off six years later thanks to the local community, which supports it many fundraisers. Harrison says he hopes to see the department’s main pumper truck – which was purchased last year – be paid off this year. That truck, which includes a 1,500-gallon tank, had a price tag of $572,000.
The community is good to support the department.
According to Fire Chief Shawn Harrison:
The earliest record of a formal organization comes from a minute book dated 1942 which appears to detail several house fires that occurred which served as an impetus to form an organization. In 1948, a Wajax water pump was purchased and in 1951 a trailer pump. It was at this time on January 22, 1951 that the department was officially formed according to some of the original past members.
Through a public meeting, John Allen Waters was elected Fire Chief and Charles MacMillan was elected Deputy Chief. At the same time, Eddie Poole and John Lewis MacKeigan were appointed to find land for a firehall which was built between 1963-64. In June of 1968, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed to assist the department in fundraising activities and proved to be a vital and necessary addition to the department.
In November of 1968 bylaws were introduced and a 3000-gallon tanker from Crown Assets Argentia Newfoundland was purchased for the department. With the purchase of existing land beside the hall, logs were cut and traded for lumber to put an addition on the hall. The department was incorporated in 1974 and joined Strait Area Mutual Aid in December 1976 and is still an active member today.
In 1986 a 4WD GMC 3500 truck was purchased and GM MacDonald Welding was contracted to fabricate and install a 300-gallon tank and pump with storage compartments making it the departments first mini-pumper which remained in service until the fall of 2017 when it was replaced with a new Ford F550 unit, fabricated by Carl Thibault Fire Trucks in Quebec.
In 1991, Strait Area Mutual Aid installed a communications tower and repeater tower in the upper Provincial Park in Whycocomagh which allowed a new paging system to be used to contact departments for emergency calls. The new system eliminated the landline service to notify departments of emergency calls and by 1996 the old system was completely discontinued.
In 1987 a Dodge Ram van was purchased to serve as a medical truck for the department and in 1996 GM MacDonald Welding was contracted to fabricate and install a 1,250-gallon water tank, pump and compartment storage to be installed on a new single axle Mack truck that was purchased in the fall of 1995. Once completed, it would become the main pumper truck for the department until July of 2024 when it was replaced with a new Freightliner pumper with a 1,500-gallon water tank. This new unit was built by Metalfab Fire Trucks in New Brunswick.
In 2001 the Jaws of Life Coalition was formed between Whycocomagh, Blues Mills, Valley Mills and Scotsville to purchase extrication equipment used during motor vehicle accidents. The first training was held in October 2002 in Scotsville. The equipment was replaced in 2020 with Holmatro Extrication equipment.
In 2008 work began on building a new fire hall and in 2010 the department moved to the existing hall which also has an EHS bay attached.
With support from government, municipal and our community, we were able to hold a mortgage burning in 2016 and named the fire hall the Ian R. MacKeigan Community Hall.
A huge thank you need to go out to all former members, ladie’s auxiliary, their families, our fellow departments and especially the communities we serve for your support throughout the past 75 years for without it, none of this would have been possible.
Active member list: Shawn Harrison, fire chief; Dale MacAulay, deputy chief; Jordan MacRitchie, deputy chief; Matt Brosens; Ken Hunter; Lisa Harrison; Greg Jones; Jordan Keeling; Jamie MacInnis; Derek MacInnis; John Lewis MacKeigan; Robbie MacLean; Sherryl Harrison-Mousek; Zach Simpson; Jamie Sutherland; Andrew Tubman;
Nancy Turbill; and Curtis vandenHeuval.