BONNYVILLE – A firefighter with a decade of volunteering under his belt has stepped into the boots of fire chief.
Craig Wenzel officially took over the role toward the end of last year when his fellow firefighters from Bonnyville Fire Station 5 decided they wanted him in charge.
“We were kind of in a transition period for the last few years since chief (Darryl) Shyian retired,” Wenzel recalled. “I got to the point where it was time... for the firefighters to vote on a chief and early December was when I was nominated into the position.”
Shyian bid farewell to Station 5 in 2019, with 27 years as a firefighter under his belt. A few captains, including Wenzel, came together as a leadership committee for a few years until the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) said it was time to choose a new chief.
Wenzel said he still "does have huge respect for Darryl."
“There’s no replacing someone like that, at least within Station 5. Obviously, we’re not replacing anyone but Darryl had multitudes of experience. I have to just be me and hope for the best.”
When Wenzel heard that his name had been put forward, he described the experience as humbling with "a lot of extra work."
“It’s nothing that I aspired to be... when I joined the department, I put what I could into it to help the betterment of the department in the community and this was just an extra step for me,” he explained, adding he was indirectly glided into joining Station 5 a decade ago by some of the members at the time.
“They had a call come through while I was actually in a karate class one evening and it sounded like they were quite short-staffed shortly after the hotel fire in 2010. I kind of looked at it and felt that was something that I could do, something I could help out in that capacity and there was no reason I shouldn’t be. I applied and got on shortly thereafter.”
When asked what kept him coming back year after year, Wenzel credited the men and women he’s met along the way and the camaraderie he felt with him.
“It’s an extension of a family and that really outweighs any of the negatives you could possibly imagine,” he expressed.
Wenzel has been involved with Station 5 and everything th group does in the Bonnyville community. From attending events such as the Charity Check Stop and car shows to educating students during Fire Prevention Week, Wenzel has been kept busy as a volunteer firefighter over the years.
One of the programs Station 5 offers that Wenzel said he’s quite proud of is the junior firefighter program, which sees students from 15 to 18-year-olds learn about fire safety in the classroom before gearing up and learning the ropes of what it takes to be a firefighter.
According to Wenzel, the program started in 2011 and had been going strong until COVID-19 stalled it last year.
Another activity he’s been involved in is organizing a group of Bonnyville firefighters to participate in the Firefighter Stairclimb challenge, which sees participants climb to the top of Bow Tower to raise awareness and funds for firefighters and all citizens living with cancer.
Wenzel heard about the climb in 2015 and decided to sign up.
“It was their inaugural year, a few of us jumped on board last minute to try and we’ve been going back to that event ever since.”
As Wenzel steps into the role, he’s looking forward to the opportunities and continuing to work alongside his fellow firefighters.
“It’s honestly just one position that’s within the fire department and the (BRFA). Without everyone’s hard work and dedication, it doesn’t matter what your position is, you just can’t do everything alone. We've got a great group of men and women who are committed to helping out the community and I think that’s the biggest point of all.”
