Quick Facts
Celebrating 50 years
50 years has seen a lot of change and development at the place once known as Alberta's Fire Training School. Established as a place to train fire officers by the Fire Commission's office, today fire etc. is the emergency training centre of Lakeland College. Today we serve municipal fire services, corporations and pre-professional students through on-site training as well as going to client workplaces and offering distance learning.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2009 we celebrated our anniversary. Take a look at the slide shows from the anniversary open house, meet and greet, and celebration banquet.
Check out heritage photos. Also available through the link on the left menu.
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| A brief history in time | |
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1959 -- Fire Officers Training School was established at Vermilion, under jurisdiction of the Alberta Fire Commissioner’s Office. 1968 -- Renamed the Alberta Fire Training School 1974 -- Fire fighter and fire officer training was split into distinct career paths Late 1970s -- National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards were adopted to guide course development. 1980 -- McKay-Makey building was officially opened 1989 -- Official opening of the bay addition 1993 -- Multi-level technical resue prop officially opened 1996 -- The emergency services technology (EST) program begins. 1998 -- Moved from provincial government jurisdiction to become a subsidiary corporation of Lakeland College --Firefighting Training Program, 12 week NFPA 1001 course, is launched. 2002 – Renamed fire etc. July 1, 2004 -- The corporate status was dissolved and fire etc. became a division of Lakeland College |
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| Anniversary Open House Sept. 26 | |
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It started with a pancake breakfast that more than 250 attended. They went on to tour the facility and see field demonstrations. Geting a ride in a fire truck, exploring another fire truck and looking for money in a sand dig were particularly popular with the younger set. Many also tried the mini-combat challenge. Lakeland College's second annual corn maze, celebrating fire etc.'s 50th, was also open in the afternoon. Watch some of the activities. |
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| Corn maze celebrates, too! | |
 You might not expect--and probably hope not to find--a firefighter and fire truck in a corn maze, but you will at this year's Lakeland College corn maze. The 2009 theme is the 50th anniversary of fire etc., Lakeland College's fire and emergency training centre. The second annual corn maze is a joing project of adventure tourism and agricultural sciences. As with last year, the maze will be open most weekends through Sept. and October and will conclude with paintball and Spook Alley on Halloween. After that the maze becomes fodder for college cattle. Anyone coming to fire etc's anniversary celebrations on Sept. 26 is invited to come "across the street" to the maze on the west side of the college. The maze will be open between 1 and 4 pm. While the usual price is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 11, the fee will be waived on Sat. Sept 26. Donations will be accepted. School and evening visits can also be arranged by contacting Sheri Heller at 780 853 8681. 
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| Anniversary Meet & Greet | |
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Hugs and handshakes were the theme of the Friday evening anniversary meet and greet. Former students, staff and instructors as well current students, staff and instructors mingled. Watch the slide show for more details. |
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| Support the Canadian Firefighter Statue | |
 One man's dream of recognizing firefighters has ignited a community effort to have a life-size firefighter statue located in Vermilion.Suitably the planning all came together during fire etc.'s 50th anniversary year. The statue will be a tribute to past and present firefighters whose efforts make Canadian communities safer. Already $35,000 of the estimated $100,000 cost has been raised. There's an opportunity for more individuals and organizations to get involved at a variety of different levels. Donations of over $99 will put the donor's name--or a memorial--on a brick at the statue site. Certificates of recognition will be provided to gifts of any amount. Pledge sheets will be available during the 50th anniversary celebrations. For a copy of the pledge sheet please e-mail fire50th@lakelandcollege.ca or call Ed Kohel at 780 581 2013. |
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| 50th anniversary celebration banquet | |
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