An old photo of one of the halls the Prince Albert Fire Department has occupied in its now-135-year existence. (Submitted Photo/Historical Society)

By Rob Mahon

Fire Department Anniversary

You don’t look a day over 130: Prince Albert Fire Department celebrates anniversary

Mar 21, 2022 | 12:00 PM

For 135 years, if people in Prince Albert have needed help when things go up in smoke, they’ve been able to turn to the local fire department.

In an announcement on their Facebook page, the Prince Albert Fire Department announced they were celebrating their 135^th anniversary. The department was founded on March 21, 1887.

“It’s absolutely great to be part of a bold and proud tradition of firefighting,” said Alex Paul, deputy chief of the Prince Albert Fire Department. “I’m very honored to be part of this.”

The department has a keen sense of its own history, keeping scrap books full of pictures going all the way back to the founding of the department. The old photos show just how much times have really changed, and they’ll be releasing some of those photos throughout the year.

“Little bits of trivia, when the horses left and the first powered trucks came, things like that,” Paul said. “I guess our viewers can stay tuned over the next year to see some pictures of history, some action shots and some training shots that will be posted over the year.”

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Among numerous other changes from the opening years of firefighting in the area, the single fire department for Prince Albert began life as two. They amalgamated in 1914 into a single fire hall on Central Avenue which still stands today as a museum.

For Paul himself, he’s approaching his 27^th year with the fire department, and even in that time he’s seen worlds of change. Things younger firefighters now do automatically were once major shifts.

“Even back then, a lot of the older members didn’t put their air packs on for some of the little stuff, like garbage can fires, car fires, stuff like that,” said Paul. “Now it’s just automatic. Nobody would even consider going near a fire without their air pack on.”

The risks of firefighting have increased in the departments history as well, as more and more chemicals have come into play. Almost everything in modern buildings carries an added smoke inhalation risk if it burns, and fire departments have become increasingly aware of it.

“I think firefighters were always aware of the physical dangers, the immediate dangers of fire and building collapse,” said Paul. “What they didn’t understand was the long-term effects, the risk of cancer, the risk of breathing problems, COPD, all that kind of stuff. They didn’t correlate that to their career as firefighters.”

Paul added since most of their releases online relate to fire calls it will be nice for the public to see something from them that’s good news.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP