Crossfield’s new fire chief Bill Messner is just three weeks into the job, but is already looking to the future of his local department.
Messner, who has 30 years experience as a firefighter as of this August and previously served as Deputy Fire Chief in Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta, said he hopes to make a difference in his first official role as fire chief.
“It’s a big step,” he admitted in a recent interview with the Rocky View Weekly, “but as with any firefighter with aspirations of moving up and wanting to delve into the more administrative aspects of running a department, the fire chief’s position is always a primary goal. I am always endeavouring for new challenges, and with this position, there are numerous challenges to keep me engaged to lead the department in the ways that I can.”
Messner started his fire career as a paid on-call volunteer firefighter in Hay River, Northwest Territories. He was 18 years old at the time and was initially drawn to the sense of excitement that comes with the job.
“I went (to Hay River) for a job that was supposed to last three months and ended up still there 10 or 12 years later, before finally moving out of the territories,” Messner recalled. “That’s where I started my firefighting adventure. I was 18 years old, and thought it would be cool to ride on the big red fire trucks.”
However after responding to various scenarios as a young firefighter, Messner said he came to develop a fuller appreciation of the community service side of the job.
“Shortly after I started, it really dawned on me as to what being a firefighter is all about within a community,” he remembered. “It’s about giving back to the community and making a difference in people’s lives. And that is still what I hold as true in terms of my firefighting values.”
Messner said he has always been drawn to smaller communities since embarking on his professional firefighting career, and it was this aspect that drew him to apply for the job in Crossfield, following the recent retirement of the town’s former fire chief, Ben Niven.
“We also wanted to get closer to the city from where we were,” Messner said. “Once this position opened up in Crossfield, we had a look at the town, and we had a really good feeling. That’s what brought us here.”
It also helps that Crossfield is also close to the mountains as well as the cities, he added, because he and his son like to camp and ride quads in the backcountry together. Crossfield represents the best of both worlds in that sense: a close-knit community, proximity to nature, and nearness to the cities of Airdrie and Calgary.
Messner said he is equally thrilled to be working with a group of firefighters in Crossfield who are as dedicated to community service as he is.
“We have just an incredible group of people here,” he stated. “The whole group is dedicated. They are very community-focused, and they enjoy what they do in terms of serving the community.”
However, Messner also knows he has a big task at hand in the coming year: bringing in more dedicated volunteer members to help bolster the department’s ranks and replacing the senior members who have been retiring.
“We will definitely be conducting a recruitment drive this year,” he said. “We would like to focus specifically on the residents within Crossfield, and see what we can pull up our numbers here this year.”
Messner said despite the tragedies firefighters occasionally have to confront on the job, the rewards for being in the fire service are many.
“We are here to do a job, and we do that job for a reason,” he explained. “And that is to serve the community and make a difference in people’s lives.”
