One of the area’s longest-serving wildland firefighters has been honoured for over a quarter-century of work.
Kevin Buettner was one of several Saskatchewan public safety workers who received the Saskatchewan Protective Services Medal last month. Buettner received the award in a small ceremony with Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty on Sept. 23.
One of Saskatchewan’s most prominent awards for public employees, the Saskatchewan Protective Services Medal is given each year to long-term workers who are tasked with protecting Saskatchewan residents or who supervise other protective personnel.
Buettner, one of over 160 recipients of the award this year across Saskatchewan, received the award for 25 years of exemplary service in the field. Each year, the medal is given to people who have worked 25 years “in the public service sectors working in a direct capacity to ensure the safety and security of Saskatchewan citizens.”
A fire technician at the Denare Beach Forest Protection Base with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Buettner has spent years coordinating efforts to fight wildfires both near home and abroad - he has travelled to fight fires in B.C., Montana, Oregon and Australia, where he spent more than a month in 2019 fighting widespread blazes. Buettner helped fight notable forest fires in northern Saskatchewan in 2015, 2017 and this past summer.
Buettner was one of 11 Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency workers who received the award this year.
