Olds town council took time March 26 to present awards to three members of the fire department.
They are Gerry Ratke, Lt. Jon Lavoie and Capt. Kelly Andrew.
Ratke (ret) received the Fire Services Exemplary Service ribbon for 30 years of service.
During his tenure, Ratke filled many positions, including that of a firefighter, training officer, captain and deputy chief.
Ratke is only now just getting his award five years after his retirement, but is understanding of the wait and isn’t bothered by it.
“I was honoured internally by the fire department,” said Ratke about when he retired in 2013. “I didn’t know this was coming; it’s just an award from the Governor General.”
Ratke’s wife Wendy, who joined him when the award was being presented, is happy that he is being recognized.
“I’m very proud of him and the years that he gave to the community through the fire service, so it was nice to see it recognized,” she said.
When reflecting on his time with the department, Ratke described going into all situations with a business mindset to help focus.
“You’re there to help make things as good as possible and get things under control to make it better,” he said.
Ratke recalls a fire outside of Sundre at the Sunpine mill that stood out to him.
“It was a two-day fire that we got under control. We couldn’t just attack where it started, we had to go back and let it burn up to us and make a break,” said Ratke. “That was a big one.”
Like any volunteer firefighter, Ratke worked a full-time job. That limited the amount of calls he could respond to.
“Your employer would let you go, depending on the call or what you were doing. I worked in power so I couldn’t always just leave.”
Ratke commends the current group of volunteers for taking the time and serving the public.
When Ratke began volunteering in 1983, things were significantly different than they are now; including the volume of calls coming in, due to the growth of Olds.
“When I started as a firefighter, the trucks were different, the communication was different, the protective gear you wore was different; it's all evolved a lot,” Ratke said. “ The training has gotten better and better and evolved.”
Ratke also indicated that the volunteers respond to more than just fire calls, which has made the call volume bigger.
“They go to a lot of medical response calls to assist the ambulance, so that has made the call volume larger. The town is bigger, the service area around is bigger, so it’s way busier. “
Through the years, Ratke and his wife learned that the commitment would shake up and completely change plans.
“I think any fire department family would be able to say that you have to go with the flow; you have to adjust your plans at any time,” said Wendy, reflecting on times when her husband would be called to an emergency.
She detailed a time that they were ready to go see a movie. She had just brought the babysitter to their home and then he went off in the car to get ready to respond to a call.
Now despite having been retired from the department for five years, Ratke still feels a sense of community with those involved.
“I worked with those guys for many years; it’s really family oriented. Our wives, families and kids grew up together and did stuff around the fire hall,” said Ratke. “There’s a social aspect to it too where everybody got along and we did events. Sports, barbecues and things like that were a big part of it too.”
The Ratkes still share Calgary Stampeders season pass tickets with a friend made through the department.
“We have quite a good core of friends from the different years. People left the department but we stayed in contact and are good friends,” Wendy said when speaking about the lasting friendships she and her husband made through the department. “There is quite a bit of camaraderie there.”
Ratke is happy with how the department is doing without him and supportive of new fire chief Jason Andrew, who started work in early February.
“It’s in good hands with Justin, he understands the department, and he’ll do a great job,” said Ratke.
