The Outlook Fire Department held its Christmas party last Friday night at the Heritage Centre, and as the crew and their loved ones celebrated and enjoyed the evening, a unique item on display touched on the eye-opening reality of what it means to be a busy local firefighter.
A highly-detailed chalkboard spotlighted the long list of calls that the Outlook crew received in 2017, and the wide variety of incidents showed that firefighters truly have to be ready for anything in their line of work. On average, the Outlook department found itself called out roughly once per week; an incredible stat when one remembers that this is a volunteer crew with outside jobs and professions of their own.
Among some of the more major calls that the public may remember include the farmhouse fire from January near the junction of Highway 15 and 219 that took the life of Gordon Martens; the blaze that decimated the old Outlook Electric and connecting office building on Saskatchewan Avenue in Outlook back in April; and the roaring bale fire in May that took place at the Elcan Forage-Ontario Dehy processing plant by Broderick.
On behalf of this newspaper and a grateful public, we hope the Outlook crew and other neighbouring fire departments have a safe 2018.
