New La Broquerie fire chief takes the wheel

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This article was published 07/07/2024 (349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A familiar face has taken the wheel behind the fire chief’s truck in La Broquerie. As of July 1, Jean-Claude (JC) Normandeau is now in charge of the 31-member fire department.

He takes over for Alain Nadeau, who was fire chief for 22 years and a firefighter since 1979. Normandeau had been his deputy chief for 19 years and a firefighter for 32 years.

“We’ve been working together for a very long time so it’s going to be a difficult routine to break up and then jump in the big shoes and get the actual work done,” said Normandeau.

After that bit of modesty, Normandeau described a little bit of his experience and preparation for the job that made it clear the fire boots fit very well. He stressed it was a team effort with a solid crew.

His former chief was more open about why Normandeau is the right person for the job.

“He’s very good. He’s shadowed me for a while now; he’ll be an easy fit,” said Nadeau.

“He gets along really good with the crew. And you got to get along with the politicians, the council. You got to make sure the equipment is up to par, make sure everything’s always ready to go.”

Nadeau does not think he needs to help the new chief much now that he is retired.

“Only if they ask me, but no, they know what they’re doing out there. We’ve got a whole group that’s been there a long time. It’s going to gel very nicely,” said Nadeau.

He said the main thing he passed onto Normandeau as they prepared for the transition was to remind him that the chief needs to step back and cannot charge in with the rest of the crew.

“That’s your instinct but you can’t do that anymore. You have to direct everybody, make sure everybody’s safe and keep an eye on the scene,” said Nadeau

Normandeau is well aware of all the responsibilities as the new chief. He already helped lead the response at the tragic train-pedestrian collision during the St Jean Baptiste Day parade.

Train and motor vehicle incidents, structure fires, grass fires, assisting Conservation with forest fires, helping search and rescue, lift assists with paramedics, working with neighbouring fire departments, and even building inspections are some of the jobs on his plate.

“Anything under the sun, we will deal with,” said Normandeau.

His department prepares with training sessions every second Thursday, including live fire exercises and filling a training facility full of smoke to simulate real world situations.

The La Broquerie fire department has come a long way since the days of riding a bus to the scene.

“And back in the day I built a rescue. We had a bread van that I and another guy converted into a rescue. And we also had an old milk truck that we converted into a tanker. We put in a lot of hours,” said Normandeau.

“Nowadays that wouldn’t fly,” he laughed.

A new firehall and a municipality that has invested heavily into equipment, plus a surge in volunteers from 12 to 31 has the RM in a much better position to protect itself and its neighbours.

“On the equipment side, we definitely improved. That took a turn of 180 degrees,” said the new chief.

He also becomes head manager as chief, as described by his old chief.

“Make sure everyone’s happy in the hall, no little squabbling. And make sure everyone’s mentally safe after calls. There’s all kinds of stuff you have to keep an eye on, it’s not just the fire scene,” said Nadeau.

One less exciting part of the job is all the paperwork with the new era of firefighting.

“Definitely more eyes on you. Liability is a big factor. You definitely have to dot your I’s and cross your T’s compared to 30 years ago,” said Normandeau.

He described the day in 1992 that got him into firefighting, when there were fewer papers to sign and volunteers used whatever they could find to bring a hose and put out the fire.

“On my grad week I actually saw the guys go to a fire call and saw the smoke. I was very interested and intrigued in joining, seeing what that was all about. So I just started going to drills and we never looked back from there.

“That’s quite the trek, I guess,” described Normandeau.

“Way back when we hired we were just looking for local kids first of all. And whoever wanted to apply, that was the first sign, right. After that, eager to work, eager to do anything,” said retired chief Nadeau, who joined when he was 19.

Now if residents are interested in becoming a firefighter, they need to keep an eye on the RM’s website for postings every year or two. Then they get interviewed for the right qualities.

“They got to do it from their heart and not for any other reasons. Example, the money. You don’t do it for the money because you’ll be very disappointed,” stressed Normandeau.

After getting the emails and phone numbers switched over, and putting forward names for deputy chief and captains this week, Normandeau said the fire department is ready for the new era in La Broquerie.

“I think we’re ready to move on here, and let’s go,” he smiled.