This is a milestone year for Black Diamond’s fire chief.
Chief Jamie Campbell joined the department 35 years ago and has served as fire chief for the past 33 years. He received a length-of-service award, along with three other firefighters, during a ceremony in Black Diamond on Dec. 6.
“I just went and joined the fire department as something to do to give back to the community. And in those days, we were what was considered volunteer," he said, noting the Town's firefighters are now considered paid-when-on-a-call, which differs from paid on-call.
It took a lot of training, certifications and qualifications to get to his position, and it was a quick move into the role of chief, he said.
“(I) very quickly moved into that role and, basically, just continued to carry on and do what I thought was the right things to do to build the department into what it is today,” he said.
After 35 years, he continues to enjoy the job and has been fortunate to work with great people over the years.
“You don't do this, as long as I've done it, as a single entity doing it. You have to have a good team,” he said. “Firefighting is not a single person sport. It's a team sport, and we need to have a good team behind you.”
Along with Campbell, three other firefighters hit service milestones.
Training officer Andrew Madarasz received a 10-year service award.
Madarasz joined, like many do, to give back to the community, Campbell said. Madarasz is a full-time firefighter with the Calgary Fire Department.
He excels as an instructor and has a knack for teaching vehicle extrication, making him a natural fit as the training officer for the Black Diamond department.
Captain Graham Shepherd also hit the five-year mark.
“He's crammed even more into five years than any of the rest of us,” Campbell said of the captain, who is also a firefighter in Calgary.
Shepherd took on a training officer role in Black Diamond and then a captain role, and currently oversees all the department's in-house training, said Campbell.
Firefighter Neil Singleton was also awarded a five-year service award.
