Outgoing Fire Chief Brian Wynn reflects on 31 years in the Whitecourt Fire Department

Just before Christmas, on the afternoon of December 20, after 31 years of service to the
Whitecourt Fire Department, now-retired Fire Chief Brian Wynn walked out of his office for the
last time and stepped into his first moments as a retired man. After dedicating much of his life to
keeping the community safe, Wynn said he was excited to be able to say yes more often.
“As chief, I was on call a third of the time, all year long. There are many things you can’t do
when you are on call. You don’t go swimming. You don’t go for walks. If we went to a restaurant,
my wife and I took different vehicles because I’d left her at restaurants before. When we got a
radio call, I would be in my truck within three minutes and going to the scene,” explained Wynn.
These were sacrifices he and his family made so that he could follow his dreams.
Growing up, Wynn developed his passion for firefighting by watching his dad work with the fire
department in Rocky Mountain House. “My dad worked for the gas company, which before
ATCO Gas was Northwestern Utilities, and he would have to go to all the structure fires as the
gas guy, and he eventually joined the fire department. I thought that was cool.”
The experience of firefighting then was different than it is today. “We had the fire phone in the
hallway at home, and it was either the siren in town that went off, or the fire phone would ring, or
both.” He said his dad’s profession became part of the family, and as he grew up, he knew it
was something he wanted to do too, but his jobs never left room for it.
“When we moved to Whitecourt, I worked for Halliburton and was always on the road. But in
1993, I took a layoff from them instead of transferring out of town, and that’s when I started,”
said Wynn. His passion for wanting to help others kept him invigorated through the highs and
lows of firefighting. Being someone’s support on perhaps their worst day was something Wynn
took very seriously.
That drive led to his desire to better himself with further training. The problem was that the
training took a week at a time and was in Vermillion, which meant losing pay and taking a week
off work. “I wanted to be the best I could be before the need arose. That’s what pushed me to be
the first 1001 firefighter in the department because it’s learning, and to me, learning needs to
keep happening.”
It took Wynn four years to reach the NFPA 1001 Firefighter Certification, the first member of the
Whitecourt Fire Department to do it. Towards the end of his training, the Ranger Board, where
he worked, started covering his weeklong training with pay, supporting him in getting the
certification. The investment ended up paying off. “I was doing the fire training of the entire plant
site out there. They helped advance my training, and they received a better, more site-specific
training for the plant.”
Wynn said his dad watched his rise in the department with pride. “When I was captain for
sixteen years, my mom and dad, the whole family, was pretty proud of what I was doing in the
community and driving that training. Unfortunately, my dad wasn’t alive when I became chief,
but that would’ve been a very proud moment for him.”
Wynn also received his 1041 Fire Service Instructor Certification, enabling him to help build an
in-house training system so that members wouldn’t have to drive out of town and stay away for

a week to train. Under past Fire Chief Bruce Parrent, a training ground (since named after
Parrent) was established (one of the first of its kind), and training levels skyrocketed.
Wynn’s desire to be better paved the way for members today to get the same worldwide-
recognized training in-house over two years instead of four. “You lead the way and show why it’s
important, and then it sets a bar which becomes the new bar. There’s always going to be the
first person who paves the path, and then it becomes the norm,” said Wynn.
He took over as Fire Chief in 2013, and one of his big pushes was for FireSmart practices to
happen in the community and beyond. “It’s the biggest fire prevention thing we could be doing,
and I hope it continues.” For the last eleven years, Wynn has helped increase the awareness of
what FireSmart is and why it’s vital and has helped bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in
grant funding to help with preventative projects in Whitecourt, like funding equipment purchases,
clearing dead and downed trees and cleaning up forests along the community’s forested edges.
“It’s been an honour to serve. I am very proud of myself, the department, and the support that
we provide the community, which is such a high level of training. And to all those who pass
through our community on the highway or when members have gone on deployments, like when
we sent a crew to Jasper. Whitecourt really does shine for the members and their training level,
work ethic and attitude. We get a lot of good comments from other departments, which makes
me extremely proud,” smiled Wynn.
He’s also proud of some of the big projects he’s been part of, including the rescue truck
purchased ten years ago. “That was a five-year fight to go from the old Chevy 350 to a million-
dollar rescue truck. It was a game changer to basically buy a big toolbox that could carry all our
stuff. That’s what the rescue is. There’s no pump on it but it carries all the things we are going to
need, everything. To this day, ten years later, there’s not one thing I would change about it. It’s
serving us well.”
His favourite memories include the current and past members and their families. A community
within the membership is vital to supporting each other. “You get to be part of everyone’s family.
You know everyone’s kids. They’re my borrowed grandkids,” he chuckled. Wynn said watching
people grow and learn is exciting, and he holds fond memories of watching members excel over
the years. “It’s awesome,” he said.
Wynn and his family have been active in the community through the years, including helping
create Eastlink Park. Wynn said they love their community and have no plans to leave. “You get
some people together that like to ski, and you research it, and now look what we have. Almost
everything in town was started by people that the community rallied behind. That’s probably one
of the best things about living in Whitecourt. It’s a community that rallies for good intentions and
makes stuff happen. It’s not just the residents; it’s the businesses that get behind them and
support the vision because they know it’s good for the community.”
As for his name change from Fire Chief to Brian, Wynn said it might take some time, especially
those who grew up calling him that their whole life, like members’ kids. But as for the community
at large, Wynn chuckled, “People might have to learn my name, and I think there are lots of
people that don’t know it.” Thanks for 31 years of vigilant protection, Brian. Here’s to a new
wardrobe, being a pit crew member for your son, going for walks and getting to say yes. Enjoy
retirement!