Innisfail fire Chief John Syroid is a man who finds it difficult to hang his helmet for the final time.
The veteran fireman, the town's fire chief for the past 10 years, is now retired. His last official day on the job was Oct. 31 but he is still hanging in there until a new chief of the Innisfail Fire Department is chosen.
“We've got applications in now. The deadline for that is on November 22 so we will be reviewing them soon,” said Syroid, adding there has been great interest for the position.
“I would like to stay on the fire department for a while yet. I am not sure for how long but I would like to see my 40 years on the fire department and that would be two more years,” he said, adding the torch needs to be passed on at the top. “It is time to pass it on to a young fella.”
Syroid said he is not sure what role he will play once the new fire chief is chosen but added that whatever is asked of him he will willingly do it.
“Probably just a firefighter – and that is fine with me,” said Syroid, who at the age of 66, with 38 years of service under his belt, still feels there are opportunities for him to learn more. “The training never ends. It starts from Day 1 and never ends. We are still training all the time.”
When the day does come to finally hang his helmet up for good Syroid admits it will be difficult to be away from the hard-working and brave firefighters he has always been close to.
“Firefighters are all my favourite people, being with them and all the camaraderie that is involved,” said Syroid. “That is going to be my fondest memory of all.”
He said it was also fulfilling to be part of the fire department when it moved into its new $1.8-million station in late 2012.
“The firefighters really enjoy the space they have now and the facility as a whole, having an area where they can congregate, reviewing their calls, just being able to get together, and all the extra space for all the fire equipment. That is really important for the members,” said Syroid, who is predicting even more great facilities for the department's future. “I expect at some point in time when the population grows in Innisfail we will need what we call a pilot hall in the north end of town. That would probably be a small hall for people to respond from.”
However, he is hoping there will be continued and even stronger interest within the community for more men and women to join the department to become volunteer firefighters.
“Things have changed a lot as far as people being able to volunteer for the fire department because of their shift work and jobs. It takes them away,” said Syroid. “It is very important to have enough people on the roster to be able to respond to any emergency. The numbers of members needs to increase as time goes on.”
