PAB Fire Chief Jerry Musseau. – © René J. Roy / Wreckhouse Press Inc.
By Jaymie L. White Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
PORT AUX BASQUES — During the fireman’s banquet on Saturday, Apr. 29, Fire Chief Jerry Musseau was honoured for years of dedicated service as a member of the Port aux Basques Volunteer Fire Department (PABFD). “I got a federal award for having 30 years of service with the Port aux Basques fire department. That was a federal award from the federal government, a medal, and a certificate from Gudie Hutchings (MP Long Range Mountains) office also,” said Musseau. “It wasn’t an award as such. It was a certificate from the government for 30 years of service, but the mayor also mentioned the amount of work I did put into the town with (Hurricane) Fiona, but no award was given out for that part, the helping out with Fiona.” Musseau has actually been a member of the PABFD even longer. “I had 32 years of service on that night, because I joined on Apr. 29, 1991, but the 30 year award didn’t get presented before because we didn’t have a banquet with what went on during COVID,” said Musseau. “This is the first time we had a banquet since that time.” Once he hit 30 years, Musseau knew recognition was coming. “With the fire service, when you do get 30 years you are presented with a medal from the federal government anyway, so I knew it was coming. I just didn’t know when,” said Musseau. “I also got one for 20 years of service. That was a provincial and a federal award, a medal, and this was a 30 year one.” Being recognized for the work he has done with fire department made Musseau feel quite proud. “It was a great feeling to know you’re recognized by the federal government, our MP’s office and the town, and being recognized at the Fireman’s Banquet was a great time to do that. I really appreciated it. If you asked me 15 years ago if I’d someday be getting the 30-year award, I would’ve chuckled and laughed because I didn’t think I’d be around that long, but here it is, reality for me,” said Musseau. “It’s nice to know when the town and the mayor recognize the work that the fire department puts into the town as volunteers, and it really touched me when he (Mayor Brian Button) talked about the amount of work I put into it with Fiona. It made me feel wonderful on that night, to be noticed by the town officials, making that known to everyone in attendance that night. It was a great feeling.” Included in his 32 years are the last 18 he has served as fire chief. “It was something I wanted to try, to be a firefighter, to see what it was all about. I applied at the time that they were looking for firefighters, and after I got into it for a while I wasn’t even sure if it was something I wanted to be doing for a long time, but I wasn’t doing much so I thought firefighting would be something to try,” shared Musseau. “I wasn’t thinking I’d be there for 32 years, but the longer I stayed, the more I started to enjoy it.” The camaraderie among the firefighters is important. “It is a family. We’re all there,. We train frequently. We respond to emergencies to help people. We are a family working together when need be and training together,” said Musseau. “We do a little bit of socializing at different times, for example the Fireman’s Ball on the 29th of April, and sometimes at the fire station when there’s not much to be doing, we get together for a few social events, and sometimes we get our families in for that also.” Like most long serving members, Musseau has witnessed his fair share of change. “When I started first, training wasn’t a big thing. You might train one week on a Monday night, and you might not do anything for three weeks on a Saturday afternoon. Now we’ve got training scheduled all the time, every second week, on the same day and same time. Training is much more structured now than it was when I joined,” said Musseau. “That is a great thing and it certainly helps everybody in their lives, with all their other stuff, because they know every second week and what day they’re going to be training. They definitely prefer that in their schedule, like myself.” The training is necessary to keep the firefighters safe. “When there is an emergency, most times it can be a dangerous situation,” said Musseau. “But that’s why we train for those situations. When we know we’ve got to train on a certain night and what we’re going to be doing that night, it makes our job much easier.” Even though he never expected to be on the department for this long, the support from the community makes it all worth it. “I like the fire service because, when you can go out and help somebody in the community or outside the community, it makes me feel good. Especially when you go to an emergency and it’s not a tragedy but it’s a bit of an emergency, and you can save a piece of somebody’s property, something like that, people appreciate what you do,” said Musseau. “But these things don’t always work out that way. Sometimes emergencies end in tragedy, people can lose property and houses, but when you can see that you can save something from getting any worse, save a piece of property or help a child that may have had their leg stuck into a swing, whatever the case may be, that really makes us feel good, knowing that we can help people and everybody can go home without any incidents, without being in harm’s way.” The interest shown in fire safety is another factor for Musseau. “When you get people calling in, asking for advice on their fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, or when we go into a school, and some of the kids, with the questions they ask, it makes you feel good that people are listening and asking those questions about fire safety. That kind of stuff, I really enjoy doing that stuff,” said Musseau. “Then we go back out in the community and we do things like the Santa Claus parade, and see the support we can get from time to time, the kids and the adults on the street, it makes you feel good that the community comes out and tells us we’re doing a good job. We all like to hear that.” Serving the community for as long as he has, it’s easy to view all of the area’s residents as an extension of Musseau’s family. “They are extended family, that’s how I put it. That’s what we are. We go to some of the senior homes. We’ve done presentations in the past. They are appreciative of the fire department,” said Musseau. “Or someday I’ll go into the grocery store and someone will look at me and say, ‘You’re still at the fire department? You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up.’ We are only volunteers but we really do our best and I’ve got to say we’ve got a great, trained fire department here in Port aux Basques.” Town manager Leon MacIsaac believes Musseau deserves every bit of recognition he receives. “Jerry has been a long serving member. He has volunteered with the town of Channel- Port aux Basques for many years, and he’s well deserving of any award that he receives. He’s put in a really long career with us as well.”
コメント