AMHERST, NS – After 32 years working around the world in the energy sector, Bob Hamilton wanted to be part of his community upon his retirement to Nova Scotia.
With years of training in fire suppression and emergency services, Hamilton quickly reached out to join the Advocate and District Fire Department and soon signed up to take the Municipality of Cumberland’s basic firefighter training.
He didn’t let the fact he’s 68 years old deter him.
“The job I did as a power engineer had a motto of safety first. We were trained to fight fires, handle rescues and all the things fire departments do now. We were trained to do the same things,” said Hamilton, who retired from his job in Australia in December 2015. “When I retired from the oil industry, this kind of fit into some of the stuff I’d already been trained for. It was natural for me to join the fire department.”
Hamilton was born in Truro and raised in Dartmouth, but his mother was from Advocate Harbour. As much as he wanted to retire in Australia, he wanted to come home to be close to his mother, whose health was deteriorating. She would later pass away.
It wasn’t long after moving to the community that he joined the fire department.
“Even though I worked most of my life in Alberta, I knew it was here I was going to retire,” he said. “I went to a meeting in September 2019 to see what it was all about. I was already with several committees in Advocate, like the ADDA (Advocate and District Development Association) and the flood risk assessment. I also started on my own to clean up the beach.”
Hamilton said being a member of the fire department is an important part of life in a small community and he didn’t let his age deter him. Almost immediately, he began the training before COVID-19 disrupted it until last fall when he was finally able to get his Level 1 certification.
“There are parts of the training that were very physical. I’m not a young man anymore and I was sweating quite a bit through some of it, but it was very rewarding,” Hamilton said. “I felt when the whole thing was over that this might be a good idea to share what I accomplished. We are always looking for new people in the fire services and I felt if I could do it others can. Just because you’re 68 shouldn’t stop you. It’s an important message. I’d like it if people think ‘if that old guy can do it, so can I.’
“People think when you retired you should lay on the couch and watch soap operas, but I’m not that type of person, I’m always involved. For me to go through the course, the reward at the end is I’m a FF 1 and can go to the next level. It opens up a lot of doors for me.”
More giving back
Supriya Minocha joined the Tidnish Bridge Volunteer Fire Department soon after moving to the community.
“Tidnish is a very close-knit community and most of our neighbours are volunteer firefighters. They were very encouraging saying they need more youth in the department,” she said. “It’s a way for me to give back to the community. When I joined I never thought I’d be the person up front holding the hose, but when you do you get that adrenaline rush and don’t want to stop.”
Minocha, 29, is in the midst of the FF1 training and while it has been difficult with the COVID protocols she has enjoyed the process.
“It’s a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, but it’s in a very good way,” she said. “Our department was so supportive I never once felt I couldn’t do something because I was female or smaller in stature. It has all been very positive.”
Daniel Gallant joined the fire department in Leicester soon after moving to the community. He was at a community event and learned how firefighters drop everything to respond to call.
“When there’s a fire or emergency they leave their family behind and respond. I thought I should be willing to do the same,” he said. “It’s about being part of the community and being there when something’s not going well.”
Cumberland County’s fire service co-ordinator Mike Carter has been working for several years to diversify the county’s 16 rural fire departments by welcoming more women as well as minorities and seniors.
Of the county’s approximately 360 volunteer firefighters, approximately 10 per cent are women, while a much smaller percentage would be from minority groups or new Canadians. It’s something he wants to change.
“It’s a vastly untapped resource of people who could be utilized by the fire service,” Carter said. “It is getting more difficult to get people to volunteer for anything, not only the fire service. Our communities are becoming more diverse, and we’d like to encourage more people to join.”
One of the challenges, he said, is getting the message out to the community that the fire departments are always looking for volunteers and it’s not just something for white men ages 20 to 40.
“We have such a vast area in Cumberland County that it’s sometimes difficult to get our message out for all 16 departments,” he said. “The perception of firefighters everywhere, such as on TV, is white males. That’s what I grew up with. There was no such thing as a women firefighter.”
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