Capt. Randy Bair was presented with the Protective Service Medal by Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty at a ceremony in Saskatoon. (submitted photo/Tina Pelletier)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Public Safety

Muskoday man recognized for work service

Oct 10, 2019 | 3:22 PM

A longtime member of the Muskoday First Nation Fire Department has been recognized for his service.

Capt. Randy Bair was recently given the Protective Service Medal by Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty at a ceremony in Saskatoon.

Bair said being awarded the medal was something he truly appreciated.

“It was very honorable to be able to get that medal and to be presented with it, [by] the lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan, it was great,” he said.

Bair, who currently works with First Nations Emergency Management, worked with the Muskoday Volunteer Fire Department for 25 years. During this time, he saw a number of changes to the department as it grew from a pretty modest operation early on.

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“We just had, like a mini pumper. There wasn’t very much gear on it and stuff, so it was bare minimal for equipment,” he said.

Since that time, the department has added two pumper trucks, a tanker, and a rescue truck. Also, the fire hall was expanded, with most of the work being done by members of the department. Membership grew steadily. When the department started there were eight people. Now there are 27 firefighters.

“It came a long ways,” Bair said.

Looking back, Bair said when he first started there were a lot of fire calls, specifically with kids starting them. He explained the department was able to get these incidents down by getting into the community and schools with their public education program. Many of the department calls are to deal with crashes on the highway that runs through town.

“We do a lot of vehicle extrication,” he said.

Bair said he was always fortunate to serve with a good fire chief, deputy fire chief and firefighters at Muskoday. He as well credits the chief and band council for being supportive of the service.

“Without their support it’s pretty hard to have a full running fire department for volunteers on the First Nations for sure,” he said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn