(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Honouring a former fire chief

Former Melfort fire chief receives unique birthday well-wishes in time of COVID-19

Apr 13, 2020 | 5:00 PM

A long-time fire chief in Melfort was treated to a unique birthday celebration amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al Armstrong celebrated his birthday on Saturday, but with social distancing and self-isolation now necessary due to the virus, friends and family couldn’t gather as they normally would.

Al’s friend Gailmarie Anderson said the idea for a drive-by birthday party came about after a number of similar ‘parties’ were posted on social media.

“We started phoning people,” Anderson told northeastNOW.

Armstrong was the last volunteer fire chief in Melfort. The current fire department and city staff were invited to participate in the drive-by party, and they were happy to do so.

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“Kudos to them, they brought the fire truck and they brought the fire chief, and they led the parade and it was wonderful,” Anderson said.

Over 30 vehicles were part of the parade past Al’s home, with a lot of friends, family, other well-wishers and former firefighters.

“I think he was really pleased that we had done that,” Anderson added.

Al wasn’t aware of the decision to hold a drive-by party. Anderson said Al’s wife Jean told him just before the caravan was set to drive past the house, and he held up a sign that Anderson made which thanked everyone for coming by.

“We all said ‘happy birthday’ as we drove past and tooted our horns and it was kind of fun,” Anderson said.

“I think people enjoyed it.”

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974