By CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION — Two former high-ranking officers in the Whiteawater Region fire department were thanked for their many years of service by their peers.
Firefighters, friends, family and other community members gathered in the upstairs hall at the Cobden Legion Friday night to say thanks to Wayne Heubner, former fire chief, and Mike Moore, former deputy-fire chief. The two men left their positions on the same day with the township in mid-July. Mr. Heubner retired after just over 20 years of service to Whitewater Region and former town of Cobden. Mr. Moore resigned after almost 35 years of service to Whitewater Region and the former town of Beachburg.
Firefighter Corey MacKenzie emceed the event.
“Thank you to every single one of you for coming out tonight,” he said to the large crowd gathered. “It’s an opportunity to say thanks to two “wonderful guys.”
Mr. Heubner was applauded as he walked to the front of the hall.
A firefighter for almost 20 years, Mr. MacKenzie said he, along with a few other firefighters in the hall, were at Mr. Heubner’s first fire call in the former town of Cobden.
“We’ve had a wonderful road together,” he said. “There’s been some fun times, some interesting times.”
Mr. Heubner was presented with a plaque that had his helmet attached to it and on either side of it a chief’s badge on one side and Whitewater Fire on the other.
The plaque says, “Presented to Whitewater Region fire chief Wayne Heubner from the officers and firefighters of Whitewater Region in recognition of over a quarter-century of firefighting and fire management services, including over 20 years in our community.”
Mr. MacKenzie said 20 years is a big commitment.
“I’ve learned a lot from you, a lot of scene management stuff, a lot of politically correctness…” he said.
Firefighters Richard Stone, Terry Moore and Mr. MacKenzie presented Mr. Heubner with his plaque, as well as a jacket with the fire logo on it.
Mr. Heubner thanked those in attendance, as well as for his many years of service, with a prepared speech.
“More than 20 years ago, I was hired as fire chief for Cobden and then Whitewater Region after amalgamation in 2001,” he said. “I was full of energy and ideas and knew I could make a difference.”
There have been many changes since he began, including going from town sirens and stationary fire phones to alert firefighters they were needed to the current individual pagers and radios, he said.
“We answered calls of people in distress and life-threatening situations,” Mr. Heubner said. “We faced challenges, saved lives and possessions, and did medical assist calls.
“We were all in this together and because of the extraordinary courage of ordinary men and women and for all outward differences, we came together as a team and positively impacted Whitewater Region,” Mr. Heubner stated.
Each firefighter had his or her own strengths, which helped form a strong team, he said. While they all may not have agreed with his decisions, he said each firefighter inspired him and helped him learn more each day.
Being fire chief wasn’t always glamorous, as he was accountable to council and had to explain or defend decisions that needed to be made.
“I survived the negative press and continual attacks directed towards fire service in my beginning years,” he said. “Like Winston Churchill, I learned that when you are going through hell, keep your head down and keep going.”
Following amalgamation in 2001, Mr. Moore and himself worked hard managing five fire stations and more than 70 firefighters, keeping them equipped with essential equipment, such as bunker gear, breathing apparatuses and updating the aged fleet of fire trucks, along with ensuring proper training for all firefighters.
Along with attending fire scenes and managing the fire department, Mr. Heubner was kept busy attending a variety of meetings, including at the municipal, county and provincial levels.
While fiscal responsibilities were a priority, especially since this is a retirement community, Mr. Heubner stated, “Safety for all Whitewater residents and firefighters was always our number one priority.”
He had plenty of praise for the firefighters of Whitewater Region.
“You, the men and women of Whitewater fire services, are exceptional,” Mr. Heubner said. “You balance family life, full time jobs, weekly practises, training and fire courses. You leave the safety of your home and beds during the day or night to protect the lives and possessions of Whitewater residents in all kinds of weather.
“This has been an incredible journey and along the way I had the opportunity to meet and become friends with a lot of amazing people,” Mr. Heubner said.
He said a door has been closed to the past, but a door to the future is now opened and he and Mr. Moore are “stepping on through and starting new chapters in both our lives.
“It took courage to stand up for what was right, to let go of the familiar and embrace the new – a life without fire service.”
Concluding, Mr. Heubner said, “If our legacy to you was time spent helping fire service progress to this level of protection, then your legacy to us is one of comradeship, faith in team work and an abiding passion for fire service.”
Moore son recalls dad’s years as a firefighter
Firefighter Chad Rozema said he became a volunteer firefighter after talking with Mike Moore.
“I’ve never met anyone who has dedicated so much of his time, to be involved in his community, to protecting the fire department, making sure they have proper training and equipment, and overseeing the huge changes that happened within our region,” he said.
Scott Moore then introduced his firefighting father, Mr. Moore.
Mr. Moore joined the Beachburg Fire Department in 1983, and trying to talk about 35 years of service in a short period of time is impossible, Scott said.
Scott recalled that when his father became a firefighter, they were summoned to a fire by the loud siren on top of the fire hall. Years later, each Beachburg firefighter had a fire phone installed in their home, he said. When a call came in, every firefighter would get the call at the same time. However, none would answer it until the third ring, so that they would all get the available information. At that time, there was no opportunity to get any further information once the phone was hung up, he said.
Scott said his father told him a few stories about instructions given on how to get to certain places, such as turn left three kilometres past a barn and turn right at an upside down mailbox, bringing laughter from the crowd – as well as a few memories of their own.
The change in 35 years has been phenomenal, including going from two people in the back of a ’47 double-clutch pump truck flying down Lookout Road hanging off the back to the modern vehicles that abound today, he said.
In 1992, Mr. Moore and Mr. Heubner worked together for the first time. There was an extreme blizzard and Beachburg was called to go to Cobden because the firehall was ablaze.
“We got in the car and I still remember to this day, driving the 30 kilometres from Beachburg to Cobden, the whole way dad was wondering who the village idiot was that managed to set the firehall on fire,” he said, bringing a lot of laughter from those listening to him.
Each Saturday, and each afternoon throughout the week, Mike could be found in his small office at the firehall going through a large stack of papers, Scott said. He was ensuring the five firehalls and more than 70 firefighters had what they needed to ensure the safety of the residents of Whitewater Region.
Calling his father to the front of the room, along with his sister Mallory, Scott said, “Mallory and I have been proud of you since we were kids, we were proud of you when we were teenagers when we went through the hateful stage, and we are proud of you today.
“I just want you and Wayne to remember that the journey in life is often more important than the destination.”
They presented their father with his plaque, helmet and jacket.
Mr. Rozema took the floor again, and reiterated how important Mr. Moore was to the fire department. There was almost never a need to phone him, because he could always be found at the fire hall, he said.
“Mike’s helped me a lot to understand the fire services, from the inside and outside,” Mr. Rozema said. “He’s always been there to bounce information off when it came to purchasing stuff or just issues with fellow firefighters or other things.
“When you have a man who spends that much time in the fire hall, who is able to talk with you, who is able to communicate with you, there’s a lot of respect.
“I have a lot of respect for Wayne, I have a lot of respect for Mike, and I have a lot of respect for fellow firefighters who are here tonight to enjoy this evening,” Mr. Rozema ended.
Mr. Moore spoke about how wonderful it’s been to work with amazing people in the fire service, as well as the retired fire service.
“What a joy it’s been to see the outcome at the end of each call, how well everybody seemed to perform and then went home and back to their daily functions,” Mr. Moore said, adding, “It’s amazing, because there’s been some shitty calls and even though we’re small-town Canada, we still get the shitty calls that big cities do. We still have to do the same job that these firefighters in the big cities get paid the big bucks for.
“Our budget never allowed us to pay too much, and when we did ask for a small pittance of remuneration, the odd percent increase would come across the table, more than some of the other ones got.”
However, Mr. Moore said, it wasn’t the money that encouraged him to stay as a firefighter.
Mr. Moore didn’t have a prepared speech, but spoke about his first budget when he became fire chief of Beachburg in 1992.The tax base was low, but he did manage to get $33,000 in his first budget to purchase the new first two-piece bunker gears and hand-held radios – going over budget.
In June of the following year, he was surprised to find out he had no budget to buy things, but did have an operating budget of $2,200.
The second story brought much laughter from the crowd as he told the story of how he was trying to get some sleep one day, as he was scheduled to work the night shift, and a woman kept calling him to come and get a cat out of a tree.
Renfrew Fire Chief Guy Longtin, who is acting fire chief for Whitewater Region, also said a few words.
“Wayne and I go back many years,” he said.
He is an outsider coming in to an organization “that these two gentlemen have done a fine job of putting together. They worked at it and worked at it hard. All I’ve heard is positive words, positive thoughts, about these two gentlemen.
“The taxpayers in the township were very, very fortunate to have leaders such as these two guys,” Mr. Longtin said.
Filling in temporarily, he said a new chief will be hired shortly, and he is hopeful that person will do as great a job as the former chief and deputy-chief.
Mr. Longtin was also representing the chief of the county, with many of them in attendance.
“On behalf of the chiefs in the county, thank you very much for the time you served,” he said.
