Portage Fire Dept. Chief retires after 44 years

Following a prolific 44 years with the Portage Fire Department -- a lifetime career -- Chief Phil Carpenter, who is also Director of Safety, is retiring.

Carpenter says, fighting fire is the only career he's known.

"It started in 1978," says Carpenter. "Right out of school, they had a summer relief program back then, so there were only two guys on shift and they would take their holidays in the summertime. They would hire these students to work on the shift while the firefighters took leave. It was roughly close to four months' work. I hadn't even graduated from school yet. So, I went to a couple trainings in May and started in June, working shifts. I got on as volunteer that fall. There was a retirement of the Deputy Chief at that time, and there was a full-time position opening. So lucky enough, I got on full-time that very same year -- in October of '78. So, things happened very quickly."

He says he then moved up the ladder through the years to what was then called the position of Lieutenant, who was in charge of the shifts.

"I worked on shift for 22 years," continues Carpenter. "Training was a big part of it all. We did lots of training and getting prepared for the job -- getting hired -- initially. I basically got hired on with zero training. That definitely has changed over the years. You wouldn't put people in those types of situations anymore just for the safety aspect alone, as it would be huge. You wouldn't do that. But that's what was done back then."

Carpenter explains the equipment from that time has drastically changed. He notes the self-contained breathing apparatus was an on-demand type of system. Firefighters had to demand their air and that sometimes drew in contaminants through that type of procedure.

"Now, as you can well imagine, with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), there's a positive pressure," adds Carpenter. "There are warning devices -- visual and audio on -- letting you know when your tank's going to get low, and where you're located in the building. So, the technology on that has improved dramatically. The communication with that as well, they have integrated the mic systems in there so that you can clearly hear a gentleman, or whoever talking on it, with their SCBAs."

Carpenter says he then moved on to the position of Deputy Chief in 2000 followed by Chief in 2008.

He attributes much of that progress to his involvement with various groups, organizations, and being on committees which proved to provide a big learning curve. Working with many great people over the years also played a huge part in his career.

"I've been Mutual Coordinator for Boyne River Mutual Aid District for 20-plus years," notes Carpenter. "I've been on the MAFC (Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs) board since, basically, I became Deputy Chief. They needed somebody to sit on the Building Standards board, so I volunteered for that and sat on that committee for 13 or 15 years. That was great in learning to be more proficient with the building codes, fire codes and helping us improve our buildings in our city to make them more fire safe."

Carpenter outlines examples of improvements to safety including fire alarm systems in child care facilities, apartment blocks, and getting that process in place and established.

"I taught a lot of vehicle extrication," adds Carpenter. "This is a course where you teach the firefighter the anatomy of the vehicle, how it's made up, how to take it apart in a quick, efficient manner in order to get your personnel that may be trapped inside. So, I definitely did a lot of those courses across the province. I've been involved with the Firefighters Burn Fund. I currently still sit on the board. I think it's close to 40 years on there. Locally, I have kind of coordinated and quarterbacked the bike auction and ball tournaments before, and now golf tournaments, for the last 20-some years. The job itself -- Fire Chief and Director of Public Safety -- with that, has come the title of the Municipal Emergency Coordinator. So, basically, I'm the city emergency coordinator when a big event or disaster should happen"

He says he's been looking after bylaw enforcement and administering, as well as the RCMP contract to some degree.

"It's not just being Fire Chief when you have the Director of Public Safety," continues Carpenter. "With that, there's more to it than just dealing with fires and rescues. You have to deal with a lot of public events. That's part of your portfolio. It's a very rewarding job. I've truly enjoyed it."

Carpenter displays some emotion at this point.

He outlines some of the most memorable events through the years, including the Oakville train derailment in '92.

"I think it was a 22-day event where there were numerous cars that derailed and the product was leaking," explains Carpenter. "So, the village of Oakville had to be evacuated. Again, we had to be onsite during the whole process, ensuring the safety and looking after things when they're offloading all these cars and product that was involved in the derailment. We were there as a safety net in case something did go wrong, and if we had to intervene and look after that particular product that was being offloaded. That was definitely a long one -- 22 days."

Carpenter says all their manpower was on hand and trucks and crews were out there. He adds all of that took place while they had to continue to look after Portage and the rest of the RM.

Among the many fires, there was the Pool elevators.

"There used to be two or three in the centre of our city," continues Carpenter. "The old wooden buildings, when they burnt, there would be fire and debris that was travelling maybe half a mile away. People were on their rooftops with their garden hoses knocking down the fire as it was landing on top of their houses. That was challenging, we'll say. The Albion Hotel burnt on Mother's Day, 1983. I remember that one, for whatever reason. And then Portage Hotel in the summertime. Those would be some of the larger downtown buildings that burnt during my career."

He explains the next step during the changeover at the department follows the establishment of a succession management program.

"There were three gentlemen that were involved with that," adds Carpenter. "Brad Bailey became Deputy Chief when Dave Holmes retired, and Brad has won the competition to be our new Fire Chief for the city. He'll be taking over May 2nd because my last day is May 1st, so that's been put in place. So, for the next two months here, I'll be doing training with Brad -- job-shadowing -- trying to show him what this job is all about."

He notes it's been 44 years on the job, and repeats how very rewarding it was.

"It was all about meeting lots of great people, and on the department here." adds Carpenter. "there were lots of great -- I should say -- fellow workers because we do have four female workers on our department now. That's, again, a change from years past, as well. That's great to see. And meeting people across the province, being involved with the Fire Chiefs Association and our Boyne River Mutual Aid District. I also did a one-year secondment with the office of the Fire Commissioner. That was in '98 to '99 and I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot that year. Just meeting people, and seeing what other departments are doing. I guess, I was able to provide some of my knowledge back to them at that time, as well. That was the idea behind it. So, that was an interesting year as well. That was in '98 or '99."

The new chief, Brad Bailey, weighs in on his time working with Carpenter.

"It's been a pleasure working with Phil. He's been an excellent mentor to me and helped me get prepared for my new role that's coming up," says Bailey. "One of the things that stands out most about Phil to me was his pure dedication to the trade of firefighting in the city of Portage. He's been very active in the fire service including the Boyne Mutual Aid group we belong to. He's been active with the office of the Fire Commissioner and many other boards throughout the years."

Bailey explains Carpenter has always been a very knowledgeable figure for them with insight, and was able to answer questions when a lot of chiefs don't have the answers.

"I've worked with him for 20 years now," adds Bailey. "I've moved up through the ranks and worked with Phil. When I first walked through the doors as a volunteer in Portage, Phil was a Lieutenant at the time. Then short shortly after, he moved up to Deputy Chief, and then to Chief."