SUNDRE – As the community continues to come to terms with the sudden and unexpected loss of No Surrender Fire Services owner Marty Butts who was a former Sundre fire chief, the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce has taken on an initiative to keep the memory of his legacy alive.
“I kind of realized that we had to do something,” said Sarah Kennedy, the chamber’s president.
Butts was killed Friday, Nov. 22 in a workplace incident at his and wife Nicci Doyle's Mountain View County property west of Sundre where he operated No Surrender Fire Services. Occupational Health and Safety said he died following an explosion and fire.
“Given that Nicci is on our board of directors, I reached out to both her and multiple closer friends and family,” Kennedy told the Albertan on Thursday.
“Everybody was just really receptive to the idea,” she said.
“This is probably the most tragic event Sundre has experienced in terms of losing a major community member and player.”
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Although Butts was not the kind of person who was known to ask for anything, given the opportunity he was always prepared to give back to the community when solicited for support, she said.
He had more than 30 years of service with the Sundre Fire Department, nearly 10 as chief. His ousting from the position in 2020 was very divisive for the community.
Following his many years with the fire department, he focused full-time on the private fire protection service he had started and had been actively involved in combating wildfires across Alberta, including the response to the inferno in Jasper this past summer.
The chamber has decided to place a book of condolence at the Sundre Visitor Information Centre, which is located at 500 Main Ave. E north of the intersection of highways 27-760.
Anyone who is so inclined is invited to drop by and honour his memory as well as celebrate the positive impact he had on the community by signing the book and sharing a few words. The centre’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
“A lot of people have been in to sign,” she said. “There were actually quite a few people who came earlier – I was waiting for the delivery of the book, and they were here as I arrived.”
And with the outpouring of heartfelt messages shared across numerous posts and pages on social media, Kennedy said the chamber also thought that setting up a central online presence would be appropriate.
“People were posting everything all over Facebook and the family will never be able to find a lot of what was being said. So, we wanted one central repository for everything,” she said.
As well, some people prefer not to have accounts on any social media platforms, and Kennedy also wanted to ensure that everybody who wanted to would have an opportunity to impart their thoughts.
“There are a lot of people that are not on Facebook or social media in general, and we wanted it to be a website that everybody can access, regardless of whether they have social media or not.”
While there is a Facebook group that has been set up, that page is intended only to share updates as they become available.
“So, as we get information on whether there is a service or anything like that, that’s where it will be shared,” she said, encouraging anyone who wants to post a tribute to visit the website that has been set up.
“We’re basically saying: access the website and put your condolences, your memories, your shared pictures, videos – anything that you think that the family would want in the future for their memories,” she said.
In a post Kennedy shared on social media, she expressed “hope that the family will find comfort in our sharing of these memories.”
“Marty’s dedication, warmth, and generosity will be profoundly missed,” she wrote in part.
“But his spirit will live on, he will never be forgotten by our community, we remain deeply grateful for his service.”
