Former NHL player Jay Rosehill is joining the Calgary Fire Department this month.
He credits his time with the Olds Fire Department as being key in getting him that opportunity.
Rosehill will be training in Calgary for three months before he’ll know what firehouse he will be stationed at.
However, he still plans on being a part of the Olds Fire Department once he becomes a Calgary firefighter.
Rosehill decided to become a firefighter while working for an oilfield services company.
Between 2009 and 2014 Olds native Rosehill played with NHL teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers.
“We did some training or like, a team building thing in a fire hall one time when I was in Toronto.
“We worked with all the equipment, using the cutters and spreaders to rip a car apart and shooting the cannons off and then had lunch with the firefighters.
“I was just like, this would be awesome to do, you know, long-term after hockey,” said Rosehill.
Upon returning to Olds, one of the first things Rosehill did was get in contact with fire Chief Justin Andrew to get involved as a firefighter. He's been serving in that role since May of last year.
“The timing worked out pretty good, where they were just starting new recruiting classes, so they kind of shoved me in there and we got trained up and everything,” said Rosehill. “I’ve been trying to take as many calls as I can.”
In the short time that Rosehill has been with the Olds Fire Department he’s learned a lot about different kinds of fires and how best to fight them.
“It's a learning process with learning about how fires react, and how different chemicals that can make a fire happen and the different things that make fire; what makes it burn, what makes it stop and what you can do to fight fires. It’s just never ending,” Rosehill said.
Rosehill never felt like he was the only one learning because other long-term firefighters still have to take courses.
The first call Rosehill went on was for a motor vehicle collision (MVC).
“I did an MVC out on the QEII at the overpass. A kid fell asleep at the wheel and took all the cables out. Luckily he was OK,” Rosehill recalled.
Rosehill praised the Olds Fire Department for being enthusiastic about what they do for the community.
“It's a great atmosphere, everyone wants to be there. Everyone's volunteering their time, so everyone is enthusiastic,” he said.
One of the things that stood out to Rosehill about the local fire department was how well everyone gets along.
“There's that family atmosphere as well, where we've done Christmas get-togethers and parties; we’ve done barbecues and camp-outs,” said Rosehill. “Just that whole family atmosphere. It's nice to be involved in the community that way as well and get to know some other people from town.”
Rosehill finds that there are a few similarities between being an NHL player and being a firefighter.
“I've found myself able to adapt to different situations and different personalities. Whether it's a hockey team or a fire hall, there's going to be 20 to 30 people in there that have lots of different opinions and personalities.
“You got to understand how to work as a team towards your common goal. That was the point of hockey and being in the locker room and I just took the same type application into firefighting,” he said.
While Rosehill hasn’t been able to respond to as many calls as he would like, he is impressed by how many calls others have been able to attend.
“With the work that I've been doing personally, and then with the family at home, and stuff like that, I haven't been able to take as many calls as I'd like to with Olds,” said Rosehill.
“There’s some guys that are just unbelievable, guys and girls that take almost every call and they've taken 100 plus (calls).”
