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Telkwa deputy fire chief on his years of service

Stuart McKinnon is stepping down as deputy chief but still plans to be a member of the force.
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Deputy Fire Chief Stuart McKinnon. (LaShaina Blair-White photo )

The Village of Telkwa is saying goodbye to their deputy fire chief but won’t have to look too far to see himagain.

After 11 years of service, Stuart McKinnon is stepping down from his position as deputy chief but still plans to be a member of the force.

He first joined the force in 2006. McKinnon said he always had an interest in the force.

After a volunteer drive put on by the fire department, he decided to check out an open house they were having.

“I just came down to check it out. I got to meet the people and was interested. Once I got in the door, I started enjoying it,” he said.

Each person on the force is a volunteer.

They spend a lot of their time training, and each week it is focused on a different thing.

When he first started, in order to get a pager you had to continually attend for three weeks straight. After being issued your pager you can receive fire calls.

McKinnon still remembers his first call.

“I do remember my first fire, it was a dumpster fire. It was very small but I was very excited,” he said.

One of his most rewarding moments of being a volunteer firefighter happened outside of Telkwa.

“It was with my family at Canada’s Wonderland and a kid fell unconscious.

He had a complete obstruction in his airway and basically, I was able to clear his airway,” he said.

This was because of all the training he received from being on the force.

“We’re trained in such a way that when you show up and do the training, for every week it’s always different training but you do it enough that it sticks and in this case, I knew what to do,” he said.

One of the things he is most proud of as a deputy is to see the crew going out and doing what they’re trained to do.

He told the story of an incident that took place in Telkwa of a man who was experiencing chest pains. Each member of the force is trained to always travel with an automated external defibrillator (AED).

“Our crew went in with the instructions of just take the defibrillator because it is a call for chest pains. They were speaking to an individual who was sitting in a chair and BC ambulance had also arrived on the scene and he became unconscious and went into full cardiac arrest,” he said.

It’s instructions and teaching like this, according to McKinnon, that makes a world of a difference. The crew was able to save the man’s life.

As of right now he has no plans on leaving the force, rather, he is just stepping back from his position.

“I just want to step back, it’s a time commitment thing. I don’t feel I can do the deputy job without putting in more time and what I am looking for actually is more time of my own,” he said.

He hopes to take this new time to spend with his family. But he still hopes and encourages others to come out and be a part of the team.