SUNDRE – With increasingly frequent and intense wildfires sweeping across Alberta and the rest of Canada every summer, the owner of a local private fire protection service and his crews barely get a chance to catch their breath these days.
“Lately the fires, they’re burning hotter and faster,” said Marty Butts, owner of No Surrender Fire Services.
“It’s a crazy world we’re living in,” Butts told the Albertan on Thursday, July 25 while on the road to provide additional assistance alongside other fire crews in Jasper.
Significant portions of the historic townsite in Jasper National Park were reduced to ash and cinder last week by a huge forest fire that on Monday, July 22 forced the evacuation of some 5,000 residents and 20,000 tourists from the iconic Canadian mountain town.
Citing enduring droughts that create extremely dry conditions paving the way for massive fires, Butts said last summer was so busy he only took a little more than a week off to rest.
Speaking candidly about what he and his teams have experienced so far this season, which despite starting a bit later than last year is quickly catching up in terms of hours on the job protecting critical infrastructure as well as private facilities and even people’s homes, Butts said No Surrender Fire Services has crews deployed in multiple areas of operation.
“I got crews in Rocky Mountain House right now with Alberta Forestry,” he said.
“And then I got crews – two different deployments – up in Fort Mac protecting homes up there and communities with large water systems and SPUs – structure protection units,” he said, further elaborating to explain the custom-made trailers are essentially sprinkler systems installed on structures.
“Yesterday (Wednesday, July 24), I sent some crews to Jasper. So, they’re in there,” he said, later adding when asked that there were about half a dozen firefighters with a “smaller type 6 engine” and some SPUs.
“They got in there just as the fire was coming in. So, they had a hell of a night there.”
For his part, Butts said he had just been working alongside one of his crews that had been deployed in Fort McMurray, but that some welcome rainfall up north enabled a partial demobilization.
“It’s been a whirlwind of going from one to the next,” he said.
“So now, I’m regrouping and sending some more guys to Jasper; that’s where I’m heading right now,” said Butts, adding his crew there had already arrived with an array of firefighting and suppressing equipment.
“I’m just going up to help fill in and help out because it’s such a bad fire,” he said.
As for how long Butts expected to be deployed in Jasper, he could not immediately say for certain.
“That’s always a good question. We never know where we’re going or how we’re getting there sometimes; if we’re flying in or we’re driving in or boating in. Like, we go to some pretty remote areas in our province and other provinces,” he said.
“I can usually get the gist of what they want before we go out the door,” he said, adding crews can hit the ground running upon arrival.
“Usually a deployment of that size, is a minimum of one week – at least,” he said, referring to Jasper.
“I’ve been at deployments for over a month at the same place. So, it all depends.”
But “it’s always a mystery how long we’re going to be there to how we’ll get there and what we’re going to be doing and tasked with,” he said.
As fate would have it, Butts returned home over the past weekend.
“I got crews up there still working with the other fire departments,” he said on Monday, July 29 when providing an update.
“They’re currently putting structural protection, equipment, sprinklers with pumps, tied into a water source on some values at risk for extra security with this warmer weather coming in – just an extra precaution,” he added.
Although he’s now back in the Sundre area, there’s never a dull moment and Butts was already busy preparing “for other calls if they come in.”
“After each deployment, there’s a lot of work to get units all serviced up, cleaned up and ready to go again.”
Among the places that No Surrender Fire Services has contracts include Alberta, B.C., and the N.W.T., he said.
“We haven’t branched out of Alberta yet” this season, he said. “But I’m guessing that’s going to come because we have contracts in all of the provinces around us.”
Private fire protection service contracts can take many shapes and sizes including with provincial forestry departments, he said.
“It can (also) be a community if they want protection, or maybe it’s a big oil and gas facility; we cover a wide range of things,” he said.
Asked how this season’s billings stacked up compared with last year – recognizing of course this season is far from over – Butts said they’re a bit behind in 2024.
“But it’s definitely picked up, and it’s shaping up to be the same as last year,” he said. “Can’t find enough people and resources almost some days.”
As for the value of individual contracts, those depend entirely on the size of the job.
“They vary hugely for what their (the client’s) needs are,” he said, such as whether the task at hand involves protecting homes or even creating a pipeline of water to support sprinkler systems.
“Communities don’t always have enough water,” he said. “We pipe the water to them for kilometres sometimes.”
Offering some parting thoughts, he encourages people to be proactive.
“Be prepared for the worst and be prepared for that 72 hours on your own,” he said.
“If you don’t prepare … it’s not going to go as good as if you did take a little bit of time to fire smart your home,” he said.
As for people who might yet be tempted to play with fireworks or start open fires, Butts implores everyone to be aware of active fire bans.
“It’s very important, wherever you live in the province, to watch what’s on a fire ban and what’s not and be proactive,” he said.
“Check (the status of fire bans) before you light that fire. And if you’re allowed to have a fire, make sure you can touch it before you leave it, right? Make sure it’s out.”
