Ashton Faulkner
Rocky View Publishing
Station 56 Fire Chief Kelly Saunders decided to keep the members of the Irricana fire hall in the dark about a donation that they were to receive, courtesy of Encana.
He said that he did so to see their reaction to the news of the donation. Saunders said it was worth it, as the group erupted into cheers and applause on May 1, after hearing the department would receive $20,000.
Saunders said the donation means a lot to everyone because a lot of the funds will go back into the community of Irricana, and community is important to them.
“I’m thrilled and the team is thrilled,” he said. “Everyone here is a volunteer, and they all give up a lot of their time and often risk their lives doing this job.
“It’s not for money, it’s because of their passion and love for their community.”
Saunders said that they will be putting the funding toward their fire prevention programs, fire inspections and using it for donations to fire-related charities.
He said it will also go toward purchasing equipment and funding additional training.
“We would like to say a big thank you to Encana, they have gone above and beyond,” Saunders said. “We have some great partnerships with corporations in the area here, and without them we couldn’t survive, mainly because they give us the opportunity to purchase extra equipment and training.
“Our budget only goes so far in this day and age, so this makes things a lot easier for all of us here.”
Saunders said he appreciates the partnership with Encana because it allows the firefighters to do their job better.
“It’s a win-win for us and for Encana,” he said. “The partnership is a natural because this is an Encana-heavy area. They have always come through when we’ve asked them for information on wells at a call, so it’s great that were are able to work together.”
Larry Marshall, community relations advisor for Encana, said the company likes to maintain relationships with community fire departments because safety is important.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority, so that’s why we really like to give back to the community, especially with the fire department,” he said. “They’re a big thing in town, like most fire stations are. We feel that they play a key role in all of these small communities.
“They commit a lot of volunteer hours to this small community and we like to recognize them for that and give them the tools – whether it’s equipment to save people’s lives or equipment to help put fires out that – to do what they do best.”
