Lloydminster Fire Department’s new assistant fire chief brings experience, passion and a love for the job to her new role.
Justine Loewen has called Lloydminster home for almost her entire life. Her family moved to the city when she was just a few months old. Outside of leaving briefly for school, she has been here ever since.
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Today, Loewen is the department’s assistant fire chief of operations, a job she describes as her “dream.”
“My current role is assistant fire chief of operations … that involves different things like daily operations, training with the members, things like that,” explains Loewen.
“Honestly, it’s been a dream job of mine since 2014 when I first got into the rural volunteer fire service. I can’t really imagine doing anything else. I’m pretty happy to say that I’m getting to live my dream right now.”
Loewen’s path to leadership was not always straightforward.
“I always kind of knew that I wanted a career where I could help people, but I didn’t have a super clear idea of what that looked like,” she recalled.
It was not until joining the Britannia Wilton Fire Department in 2014 that she found her passion. Meanwhile, in 2016, she earned her primary care paramedic certification. She worked as both a paramedic and volunteer firefighter through 2020.
“At the time, there was no real opportunity for full-time fire in the area, and I knew I wanted to stay around Lloyd,” she said.
That year she took on her first formal leadership role as a Captain with Legacy Regional Protective Services, and in 2021, she joined the Lloydminster Department as a paid on-call firefighter. Each step of the way, she has prioritized learning as a critical part of her job. Last year, she completed a Bachelor of Business Emergency Services at Lakeland College.
“I’m just a huge believer in lifelong learning,” she said. “Even the youngest, most junior member of the department can teach something to the most senior members.”
The best part of Loewen’s day is seeing the passion for the job in others in the department.
“Just seeing members within the department excel,” she shared. “The other day, I was talking to a member about the calls they’d been on, and just watching their face light up when they were talking about it, getting to be involved in that kind of career development is awesome.”
As the assistant fire chief, Loewen is also passionate about fire safety.
“Fire prevention is key. Make sure that families are practising fire safety within their homes, talking to their children about it, and just being prepared for an emergency.”
As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, Loewen acknowledges the challenges but encourages others to go for it.
“If emergency services is your passion, go all in. Embrace the challenges that are going to come with a career … make sure you prioritize building and maintaining both your physical and your mental health,” she said. “Finding a mentor within the industry that you can look to and ask for advice, I think that’s huge. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentors that I’ve had along the way.”
On that note, Loewen hopes to set a positive example for other women and advocate for inclusion in the fire service.
“I just kind of hope to be a positive example within the service and help other women looking to get into the career see that this is something they can do and advance in their career.”
What does she love most about Lloydminster? It’s the people.
“There are lots of really good groups within the city that promote a lot of different great causes and promote growth and inclusion,” she said. “I think that’s a great thing to see.”
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