Ontario’s FireRangers -125 Years of Service

Time out to pay my respects to Ontario’s FireRangers on the occasion of their 125th anniversary.

Here’s a singular example of a resource management tradition in Ontario, that illustrates the ‘hands on’ and ‘get the job

Dave Cowan, Ontario FireRanger directs operations from the air in British Columbia.

done’ attitude I’ve found so appealing in the Ministry of Natural Resources. I was fortunate enough to be working in this ministry at at time when you could be trained and be called upon to be a FireRanger while still maintaining another career path (in my case communications). Fighting forest fires, preparing communities for potential evacuation while under threat of fire, and working with some of the most dedicated and skilled FireRangers I have ever met, has given me the experiences of a lifetime.

Perhaps it’s because of this personal history, I focussed upon emergency communications. Effective communications during an emergency event is the ‘left arm’ of emergency response if  the firefighting operations are the ‘right arm’. The two functions must work as a team to make it all work. After all, it’s life, property and resources that are at stake!

We tend to understate our heritage as Ontarians however once you’ve watched our FireRangers in action particularly when they are taking on the smoke, heat and flames in another province such as British Columbia, or cutting out the debris in the aftermath of a tornado, you can’t help but want to mark the 125th anniversary as something significant in Ontario’s history.

An Ontario FireRanger fights wildfire with fire in BC

Ontario Premier Dalton McGinty has captured the essence of what the Ontario FireRangers role has meant in his message to all FireRangers.

Read more about: the 125th Anniversary of  Ontario FireRangers,  Ontario FireRanger’s History, or How to become a FireRanger.

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