La Broquerie’s longest serving firefighter hangs up his gear

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This article was published 25/05/2024 (676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Longtime fire chief Alain Nadeau is calling it a career as a volunteer firefighter.

Nadeau started working as a firefighter in 1979, when the RM of La Broquerie opened its first station.

Nadeau notched 45 years of service and has 22 years as fire chief for the RM. He’s seen two different fire stations come and go and leaves a brand new hall for whoever the next fire chief will be.

He started at 19, when he wasn’t working with his dad at the dairy farm. Now, he’s 64 and has nine grandchildren.

Nadeau remembers his first ever call in May 1979. It was for the Marchand Hotel, he was called in around midnight, but it ended up being a false alarm, and he got to go home.

“I think somebody wanted to run away from the hotel and get the cops to converge in one area,” he laughed.

His most memorable call was four barns on fire at a 1,500 head dairy farm. The firefighters had to split up into two crews as it was such a large area. Because of their efforts, out of 1,500 cows, only eight died.

“We had to have big tractors, payloaders and trackhoes and had to demolish to disconnect the barn from where the animals were,” Nadeau said. “We had fire departments from all over the south helping us there. That’s when things all line up perfectly.”

“It would have been a big loss had we not stopped it there,” Nadeau said. “The farmer actually started milking cows at 8 o’clock the next morning.”

He said even though the equipment wasn’t as advanced as it is today, it hasn’t changed much. The differences are in the levels of safety in the equipment, not the equipment itself. The vehicle extrication equipment for example, is now electric.

When Nadeau started, the station was an old machinery shed that could barely fit two trucks and a bus. The station’s office had to be elevated and in the corner of the building to make room.

“We had to place them strategically to get them to all fit in,” said Nadeau. “It’s quite an improvement (today).”

The bus firefighters were transported with had all their gear placed inside, outfitted with custom made wooden lockers and hard plywood benches. The bus was a 1966 International they got when Steinbach’s fire department upgraded.

The new station has six trucks, no buses and has offices on both ground level and a second floor.

Although the equipment is safer, Nadeau said fighting fires has gotten harder since he started, because houses burn faster and the fire spreads quicker.

He said what he’ll miss most about no longer being on the team is how close the crew is.

“We’re a pretty tight knit family, the whole firefighting group,” Nadeau said. “That’s what I’m going to miss most.”

Just because he doesn’t have to worry about being called in at any time, doesn’t mean he won’t keep thinking about firefighting. After all, three of his five children are now in paramedic and firefighting careers.

Just like when he started at 19, Nadeau still works as a farmer, although he switched from dairy to bison years ago.

Nadeau’s last day is July 1, the same day as co-firefighter and cousin, Pierre Nadeau, who himself also has a long firefighting career, with 37 years served for the community.

“Pierre has been waiting to retire for a few years, we’ve decided together that July 1 would be our last day,” said Nadeau.

Of the original 1979 crew, Nadeau is the last one to hang up his hat, 45 years after he started.