What does firefighting look like in a town where everyone is a volunteer?
In Episode 16 of The Other Side of the Call, we travel to Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories to speak with longtime volunteer firefighter Jason and his wife Helen about life and emergency response in a northern community of just over 2,000 people.
When the pager goes off in a place like Fort Smith, firefighters leave their jobs, their families, and whatever they were doing to respond to neighbours in crisis. With limited resources and vast distances between communities, volunteer departments in the North rely heavily on training, teamwork, and trust.
Jason reflects on more than two decades in the fire service and how he first became part of the local department. He explains what volunteer firefighting actually looks like in a remote community, from the growing training demands to responding to emergencies that range far beyond structure fires.
Helen shares what it means to support a partner in the fire service while raising two young boys in a community where the fire hall often feels like a second family. Together, they describe the unique bonds that form between firefighters, spouses, and children growing up around the department.
The episode also includes a powerful story about a family trip that turned into a survival situation when the float plane carrying them flipped into a northern lake. Drawing on years of emergency training, Jason and Helen describe how preparation and instinct helped guide their response in those critical moments.
This is Part One of a two-part conversation about volunteer firefighting, family life, and the realities of living and serving in Canada’s North.
Resources mentioned in this episode
Wounded Warriors Canada
Before Operational Stress (BOS) program
https://woundedwarriors.ca/programs/before-operational-stress
Episode 13 of The Other Side of the Call
Featuring Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Boynton discussing trauma support and programming for first responders and military members.
Released February 24.
About the podcast
The Other Side of the Call explores the human side of public safety work. Through conversations with dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, clinicians, and researchers, the show examines the realities of operational stress, resilience, and life beyond the call.