Fort St. John hosts 41st Annual Indigenous Firefighter Competition

Firefighters from First Nations across British Columbia were in Fort St. John last week for the 41st Annual B.C. Indigenous Firefighter Competition, bringing teams from across the province to the North Peace for three days of training, teamwork and competition.

Photos by Richard Olak

The event, hosted by the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society, has been running for more than four decades and gives Indigenous fire departments a chance to train together, learn from one another, and bring those skills back home to their communities.

“The First Nations Emergency Services Society has put on the firefighters competition for the last 41 years,” said FNESS’s media specialist, Richard Olak. “The competition actually predates the organization, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary over the weekend. It was an event like this which inspired the inception of the organization itself.”

This year’s competition was held from June 25 to 27, with two days of training taking place before Saturday’s public competition, where teams worked through a series of practical events based on the kinds of tasks firefighters face during emergency calls.

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“This year the BC regional competition was held in Fort St. John, so teams from all over the province came together and went through certain evolutions for the chance to go to nationals, which happen every year as well,” said Olak. “There is also training attached to this, the teams did two days of training with the Fort St. John Fire Department, which was great.”

9 teams and around 65 firefighters took part this year, with the winning team earning the chance to represent British Columbia at the National Indigenous Firefighter Competition.

“Typically there is ten teams, but two teams didn’t have a full team so we put them together,” said Olak. “There’s a lot of competitive nature with fire departments and teams we found, so it’s a really good chance for them to come together and have a good time, compete, do some training and meet new people.”

When the competition wrapped up, LNIB Fire & Rescue Department claimed first place and earned the opportunity to represent British Columbia at the National Indigenous Firefighter Competition. Tache Fire Department finished second, while Gitwinksihlkw Fire Department placed third. LNIB Fire & Rescue Department was also recognized as the competition's Most Sportsmanlike team.

FNESS also introduced two new awards this year to honour the memory of firefighters Randy "Moose" Coutlee and Neill Moroz, whose absence from this year's competition "weighed heavily on our hearts." The Randy "Moose" Coutlee Most Dedicated Firefighter Award was presented to Steve Austin of LNIB Fire Department, while the Neill Moroz Memorial Above and Beyond Award was presented to Don Mattess of Tache Fire Department.

In announcing the winners, FNESS thanked every firefighter who took part, saying, "The outstanding sportsmanship and camaraderie between teams embodied the true spirit of this competition."

While there was a winning team to be crowned, the weekend was also about recognizing the firefighters who give their time to protect their communities, especially in places where emergency services can be stretched across large and remote areas.

For Fort St. John, the competition gave residents a chance to watch firefighters from across the province put their training into action, while also bringing a major Indigenous firefighting event to the Peace Region.