After three decades of service as a volunteer firefighter in Dalmeny, including 25 years as Deputy Chief of the department, Wilbur Hueser is hanging up his white helmet.
Hueser retired from Dalmeny Fire and Rescue (DFR) in mid-March. Two years ago, he closed out a 33-year career with the Saskatoon Fire Department; 14 years as a firefighter and 19 years as a fire service instructor.
“In the City of Saskatoon Fire Department, it’s a brotherhood,” said Hueser. “You stand side by side with the rest of the crew, and you’ve got their back.
“But in the Dalmeny Fire Department, it’s more than a brotherhood; it’s a family. You’re a lot closer to everyone.
“While it was hard to leave the Saskatoon Fire Department, when I walked out the door I never looked back. It was like saying goodbye to good friends.
“But, when I left the Dalmeny Fire Department, it brought a tear to my eye. It was like leaving family; like saying goodbye to Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters.”
Dalmeny Fire Chief Rick Elder said Hueser will be missed.
“Wilbur had over 30 years experience in the fire service, and he brought a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm to everything he did, whether it was providing leadership in an emergency situation; or teaching and mentoring others,” said Elder. “We could always count on him to be upbeat every day. His enthusiasm was contagious.
“Having a guy like that as Deputy Chief was great. He was my wing man.”
Hueser said he felt it was time to step away from the Deputy Chief position because he wasn’t able to devote as much time and energy as previously.
“Life got busy,” he said. “I’m involved in other endeavours, and I’m not able to make the kind of commitment necessary to meet the expectations and standards I set for myself.”
Hueser said while he won’t be an active member of the department, he’ll still be available as a resource person for firefighter training for Dalmeny and other area fire departments.
Hueser said there are similarities and differences between professional full-time fire departments in urban centres and volunteer fire departments in smaller communities.
“The hazards all firefighters face are the same,” said Hueser. “And so the training and certification levels are also the same.”
He noted that firefighters, both full-time professionals and volunteers, are increasingly responding to more and varied types of emergency calls.
“Whether it’s a house fire, a medical call, a vehicle collision, a building collapse, water rescue, hazardous material incident or a rope rescue, a firefighter needs to be trained to professional standards. The incidents themselves don’t differentiate between a volunteer and professional firefighter.
“The biggest difference is that for a full-time professional firefighter, it’s a career. After your shift is over, you can go home.
“But a volunteer firefighter is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When a call comes over the radio, you drop everything and go; it doesn’t matter if it’s in the middle of Christmas dinner with your family or in the middle of the night and it’s 40 below and a raging blizzard.
“There’s more at stake because it’s your community, and the people that need your help are your neighbours and friends, It’s more personal.”