John McDermott is the new Big Lakes County fire chief.
Richard Froese
South Peace News
High Prairie Fire Chief Ken Melnyk welcomes the new fire chief for Big Lakes County and trusts the two fire departments will grow stronger together.
Melnyk spoke to Big Lakes council at its regular meeting Jan. 10.
“We want to work closer with the county,” Melnyk says.
He is optimistic that the partnership will strengthen under the new county fire chief John McDermott, who was previously part of the High Prairie fire department.
“I’ll be happy to work with your new fire chief, we’ve worked well together before,” Melnyk says.
He particularly notes the Town of High Prairie Fire Department wants to expand its shared service area beyond a current boundary of East Prairie River set by a former county fire chief several years ago.
County council is open to that partnership.
“There shouldn’t be any boundaries when it comes to health and safety,” Reeve Ken Matthews says.
The High Prairie fire chief says the town firefighters are able to respond to calls very quickly and even into the county.
“We can have a truck on the road in three to five minutes during the day and five to seven minutes at night,” Melnyk says.
“Our response time is incredible, particularly for a volunteer fire department.”
Most members live and work in the town and can quickly respond to calls, he says.
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