When Kevin Weinberger began as a volunteer firefighter in Pincher Creek nearly 20 years ago, he wanted to be involved in the community.
However, he quickly fell in love with the camaraderie, duty and honour of being a member of a protective service.
“When I started as a volunteer it was really just the curiosity and the opportunity to get in the community and meet people,” said Weinberger, 42. “You quickly become attached to that pride and tradition of the firehall.”
He worked his way up to the role of chief by 1999 in Pincher Creek and served another seven years before taking on the role of deputy chief, emergency medical management for the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo in Fort McMurray in 2006.
Under the tutelage of his two superiors at the fire hall, Jeff Carlisle and Brian Makey, he flourished.
“They were great coaches,” he said. “They weren’t micromanagers at all. They would let you take the lead and build your team as long as it was aligning with the department goals on an annual basis.”
In Fort McMurray, his role of deputy chief had him dealing with frontline issues while his chief dealt more with corporate and setting the department’s overall direction.
“I think from a leadership role, it will be very similar to what I will be challenged with in Airdrie,” said Weinberger, originally from Medicine Hat.
“People will still come to me looking for guidance or support.”
In less than two weeks as chief in Airdrie, Weinberger has toured the city, met key civic leaders and scheduled a bevy of meetings with nearly every person at the Airdrie Fire Department.
Weinberger has also created a 100-day plan in order to properly establish himself in Airdrie’s fire department and have all the knowledge he needs to succeed.
“The best way to keep myself on track and hit all my key objectives is to develop something where I can understand it and do the best job I can,” said Weinberger.
There will be new ideas coming into play for the fire crews, as well.
A reporting structure and how captains relay information to their crews will be altered, according to Weinberger.
“It’s not to flip everybody upside down in the first couple weeks, but I have some different ideas of how I like to see things work,” he said.
The city’s fire crew is 56 people strong, less than half of his Fort McMurray roster of 124.
However, he said that won’t make his job easier, just different.
While challenges will still remain, another big difference is Airdrie’s smaller coverage area, according to Weinberger.
The chief is currently based out of the Main Street fire station and is expected to move into new headquarters on Airdrie’s west side by November.
