Plenty has changed over 43 years as a firefighter
PLATOON CHIEF KEN MERCER OFFICIALLY RETIRING IN JANUARY
After almost half a century, Platoon Chief Ken Mercer will be hanging up his helmet with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services.
On Nov. 8, Mercer will run his last shift at the Fire Headquarters Station 1. He will officially retire on Jan. 5, 2017.
Through all the changes he’s witnessed, one thing still remains the same — dedication to “customer service.”
From fighting the flames to water rescue, dangerous chemical leaks to being caught in confined spaces, Fire and Emergency Services are prepared to keep the public safe — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“I think any public servant, like us and the police and anybody, I think we’re there to give out chances, you know, because when we roll, somebody needs another chance at something,” said Mercer. “We put out a fire, that gives a second chance. We save someone at a car accident, we give them another chance. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose ... but we sure try.”
Mercer began his career with the fire department on July 9, 1973 at the age of 21, under the direction of Fire Chief W.L. Russell. Since then, he’s seen six different fire chiefs come and go.
As a young boy, he didn’t always dream of becoming a firefighter. He scored his first job as a newspaper carrier at the age of 14. Running prescriptions for Draffins, moving furniture and operating heavy equipment for Marshall Auto Wreckers kept him busy as a young adult.
Mercer enjoyed slapping the hockey puck around with some of the local police officers and firefighters, including former Lethbridge Police Chief Tom McKenzie. One day, one of his teammates suggested Mercer apply for the police force.
He applied for all three police forces including the RCMP, but was turned down.
“I made it past the interviews (for the RCMP), but then they found out I was married and they wouldn’t take me. In ’72 they wouldn’t take married guys,” said Mercer.
A job with the fire department soon opened and Mercer applied. Although he didn’t know anything about firefighting, he knew how to run heavy equipment. His first training officer was a sergeant major from the Army, James “Jim” McKenna.
“And he was a sergeant major. You called ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir,’ three bags full... It was very different because it was postwar,” said Mercer.
Mercer has watched the team grow, not only in numbers, but with services and technology. In 1973, Mercer says there were about 80 employed with the fire department. Now, he estimates, there are close to 200.
Dispatchers used to sit with firefighters in one room in the old Fire Hall No. 1.
“We had one little tape cassette that you had to push and answer the phone at the same time,” he said. “We had gongs. We had pole alarm boxes on the streets for fires because there were no cellphones. You’d pull the box, a number would come in and that’s how we’d respond to fires.”
Ambulance services existed then, but firefighters didn’t do a lot of medical training beyond advanced first aid. Today, all firefighters are dually trained as Emergency Medical Technicians/Paramedics.
“We also train heavily in fire because fires change,” Mercer added. “Back when I started, we had big fires then. This was before alarm systems, fire code and smoke alarms. We would go to some major, major fires.”
However, Mercer counts two grassfires — west of Lethbridge in November 2011 and September 2012 — among the biggest he’s ever faced. Both fires forced the closure of several main roadways and the evacuation of some residents from their homes.
“I was first commander in the first one and the second. Those were about the two biggest ones, but there’s so many that I’d really have to sit around the campfire and ponder this.”
The most dangerous fire he’s experienced was a chemical fire at the Owen Distributing Warehouse in the late ’70s or early ’80s. That was before personal protection equipment really existed.
“That smoke was really a funny colour and I think some of our boys paid the price,” said Mercer. “It was before we really knew about hazardous material.”
The fire department now runs a Hazmat team, and Mercer is Haztech certified.
“Fires have changed. They used to build houses out of wood. Now they’re all plastic. Fires burn hotter and faster and they trap us in houses,” he explained. As a result, firefighters are provided more training and have better protective gear.
“I used to wear a pair of hip waders, because we had longer coats,” said Mercer. “Now it’s progressed into a full set of protective turnout gear that’s very advanced.”
Mercer says the department now handles more calls in one month than they used to do in a year in 1973. That’s partly due to population growth, he said, but also due to a wider range of services provided.
“It’s different. I think we’ve moved forward. We have one of the best equipped fleets in the entire province compared to our size. We have stateof-the-art ambulances. We have paramedics.”
When he first started, Mercer said he had a different perspective on life. His thirst for training progressed him through the ranks and in 1999, he went into fire training.
“I did that for five years, and that gave me the opportunity to take a humongous amount of training,” he said, which helped lay the foundation for the department.
Firefighters have always taken training, he said but the department wanted something that was certified, legal, consistent and that could continue throughout a firefighter’s career. So they started to teach National Fire Prevention Association courses.
“I really think that training is the answer... prepare for the worst, anything else you can handle,” he said. “Because we do everything — car accidents, mentor firefighters, cats out of trees, dogs out of the river — because if we don’t, people will go into the river.”
The Platoon Chief role has also evolved. Mercer empowers his team while monitoring the radio, and is at the ready whenever things go awry.
“When it gets bad, that’s when I go,” he said. “I show up for the support of my team and if I have to take over, I will. I’m there to support them during the event and with my experience and expertise. And it’s exciting.”
There are a “multitude of reasons” Mercer loves his career. His primary “customer” now is his crew and administration. Citizens, too, but in a different scope.
Now that he’s been in a supervisory role, he can look back and see that he’s trained about 80 per cent of the firefighters at the station.
“I’ve passed on my profession to some of them, and I’m still doing that today. And I love it,” he said.
Mercer isn’t quite sure what he’s going to do in retirement, but he has looked into maybe volunteering with Global Fire.
“I’m going to have to do something. If not I’ll drive my wife nuts,” he said with a laugh.
One thing is for certain. Mercer is looking forward to passing on his legacy to a new generation of firefighters.
“Yes, it’s time to go,” he says, almost choking up at the statement. “It’s almost like having a big family. It’s been a good ride. Been bumpy at times, but overall the ride has been pretty smooth.”
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