It was a night for pats on the back, and funds for community projects.
Humboldt's fire, ambulance and police crews came together once again to host the fifth annual Humboldt Emergency Services Charity Event on February 5.
Attended by over 250 people, the event raised $7,238 for two charities - the Humboldt Spray Park and the Humboldt Fire Department's equipment fund.
This brings their total raised in the five years of holding these events to $25,838, all of which has been donated to local charities.
In total, 43 members of the Humboldt RCMP, Humbolt Fire Department (HFD) and Humboldt and District Ambulance Service (HDAS) attended the event, using the evening as an opportunity to connect with the community they serve.
"This is a great function," said master of ceremonies Lambert Stumbord. Everybody knows somebody who is involved in at least one emergency services group, he added, and this night was an opportunity to give them all a pat on the back for the work they do all year to keep our communities safe, and to protect us.
The one thing, he added, that each service asked him to do that night was to talk about how well all three of these groups work together, especially at the scene of an emergency.
"When you get people from each group (mentioning that), it means a lot," he stated before leading a toast to all three agencies.
Mayor Malcolm Eaton brought greetings from the City of Humboldt. He thanked the services for the contributions this event is going to make to the Humboldt Spray Park, which should be installed in Water Ridge Park this year, and to the Humboldt Fire Department's equipment fund.
The HFD, he noted, is putting together some funds for a new fire truck, something he called "an important project as well."
Poking a little fun at LeBlanc, Eaton noted that "one of the things I've learned since becoming mayor is that people like Norbert LeBlanc, our Fire Chief, have a lots of skills... One of the skills Norbert has is figuring out how to get city council to buy into the concept of a new fire truck."
Last year, LeBlanc brought a new truck to town and invited council over to look at it.
They were, Eaton smiled, a group of guys who have wanted to be firefighters since they were six, and they were allowed to crawl all over this truck.
"Well done," Eaton told LeBlanc with a laugh.
On a more serious note, Eaton extended congratulations to the award winners that evening.
"We are proud of the special dedication and commitment these awards represent," he said.
Eaton had spent the previous week at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention, speaking with other communities in the province who experienced disasters in the past year - places like Maple Creek and Yorkton, which had massive flooding, and like Kindersley, who lost their arena in a terrible fire.
"They shared their experiences (and) compelling stories of damage, difficulties, and the ongoing difficulties their communities experienced," he said. "And two things struck me."
First, he said, was the huge responsibility the city and local emergency services personnel have in situations like these.
"The citizens are counting on us as a community to be prepared to help them through very, very difficult (circumstances)," he said.
Second, he noted, was "how very, very lucky we are in Humboldt" to have a highly trained group of people in the emergency services who work so closely together, not only in emergency situations, but in organizations like the Humboldt Emergency Relief Organization (HERO) and Safe Communities Humboldt and Area.
"That's something of which I'm very proud," Eaton said.
"If and when disaster ever strikes our community, I'm confident the men and women of our emergency services organization are going to do the job they need to do to look after us all."
Members of all three services were introduced by leaders within their ranks.
Cpl. Randy Wittig of the Humboldt RCMP introduced the members of the Humboldt detachment, Fire Chief Norbert LeBlanc introduced the local firefighters, and Dave Mortensen of HDAS announced the names and years of service of local EMTs and paramedics.
Mortensen noted before introducing the HDAS staff, that their organization experienced a lot of change in the past year, from a new unit to a new protocols which led to new education and skills and new equipment to learn.
Then, he noted, they also had to learn how to operate with a new communications centre and new radio system.
All this while their call volume went up "quite a bit this year," he noted.
"We're a busy group of people. But the staff tackled all the... challenges very professionally," he added. "They took on each challenge with enthusiasm and excitement, knowing it will benefit the community down the road."
All three emergency services in Humboldt are very dedicated, he added, "which shows whenever we're at a scene."
The only service to present awards was the HFD. Five members of the HFD were presented with pins recognizing their years of service.
Joe Dutchak received a pin for 35 years as a firefighter in Humboldt. He joined the HFD in 1976 and is still an active member of the department.
Francis Kunz, the HFD's deputy chief, received a pin for 25 years of dedicated service, and firefighter James Huber one for 20 years of service to the HFD and five years to the Bruno Fire Department previously.
Mike Kwasnica, the regional deputy chief for the HFD, received a pin recognizing his 10 years as a volunteer firefighter with the HFD, and Blair Hoppe a pin for five years of service.
The last award to be presented that evening was to Humboldt's Firefighter of the Year.
This award is presented to a firefighter who has given a lot of extra time and work to the department, one who has shown devotion and who gets along with fellow firefighters. The award recipient this year, who was chosen by the firefighters themselves, was Jason Staniec.
Staniec has been a member of the HFD for two years.
