Visitors are slowly being welcomed back to Jasper after a devastating summer fire, thanks to the help of local emergency services crews.
The town lost over 30 per cent of its structures to what is now known as the Jasper Wildfire Complex.
Bryce Lytle, a Lakeland College Emergency Services Technology program (EST) instructor, recalled the college’s response.
“We were some of the first people to arrive into Jasper after that initial crew … the initial first response and mutual aid,” stated Lytle. “We were the crew that essentially allowed them to get some rest.”
Lakeland College was notified about the potential opportunity to help on July 24. Students were preparing for the potential call as well as a critical test the next morning.
Initially, they deployed the medical side of the program, which included 15 members, including the dean, two technicians, instructors, and eight students, including Carter Ives.
“It was a horrific thing that happened to the residents of Jasper, but it was a huge honour to be able to go there and help out,” recalled Ives. “It was great to go practise the stuff we had learned in a classroom in a real-world environment.”
Meanwhile, the program’s fire students deployed right after their tests. By the evening of July 25, 30 people and multiple pieces of equipment were operating under the Lakeland College banner. Due to their size, they helped with multiple tasks simultaneously.
According to Lytle, they arrived at task force headquarters at 4 a.m. on July 26. They were initially given the responsibility of protecting various structures throughout Jasper. This required them to patrol multiple corridors to protect the municipality.
“There were still structures igniting when we arrived … our job was to protect any standing structure … it was our job to prevent that fire from spreading to other homes,” stated Lytle. “For the first full day, we did structure protection,” said Lytle.
Student Jordan Baker will be grateful for the valuable lessons he learned as he begins his career as a firefighter. Additionally, he can’t thank the college and professors enough for pushing for them to be first responders to the fire.
“It was a life-changing experience for me, something I’ll remember for my whole life,” said Baker. “For students at such a young age, it was a phenomenal experience.”
However, those lessons didn’t come without extensive conversations about the abilities of the group the college considered taking. Lytle provided first-hand input into what they were getting into as he responded to Fort McMurray in 2016.
“Taking the students was a calculated decision,” stated Lytle. “I knew it was something that came with risks and dangers. We needed to calculate and ensure we were comfortable taking students into this situation.”
As a team, they determined they would be able to help in Jasper.
“We understood the group we had, their strengths and their ability, that was kind of the big key turning point of understanding this group was able and was certified to a level they weren’t gonna be a hindrance,” said Lytle.“They were going to be boots on the ground able to help with whatever the situation was and wherever it was.”
Weeks from graduation, Mitchell Bremmer hopes to become a full-time city firefighter. Additionally, he shared some tasks he remembers completing during their five days on the scene.
“We patrolled streets, protected structures, checked basements and made sure there were no new hot spots,” said Bremmer.
“We took part in restoring the downtown so when citizens returned, they wouldn’t be coming home to streets filled with disaster, but something which seemed like home again.”
The province is auditing the EST at the Vermilion campus because of its performance during the fire. According to Lytle, Alberta Emergency Management is reviewing everything the school could offer going forward.
“Instead of asking to help, we may be considered part of the resources the province can call in in the future because of how we performed in Jasper,” said Lytle.
The Jasper fire changed their community, leaving scars that won’t be soon removed. With the students, it left life-long memories and lessons they will use going forward, serving communities across Canada.
Read More: Fire crews on route to Jasper - Meridian Source
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