Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Answering the Call

For 45 years, Claude Daoust has served his community as a volunteer firefighter. And he’s still going strong

By Matthew Walchuk, Representative

The night before I met with Claude Daoust, Chelmsford Station 11 captain and a Local 920 member, he had responded to a barn fire that lasted until 4:30 a.m. That didn’t stop him from meeting me promptly at 11 a.m., eager to talk about his time as a volunteer. He also mentioned that he may have to leave if a call came in to respond to as he would definitely be going. He didn’t look tired at all.

Claude began serving (officially) as a volunteer firefighter in the town of Rayside-Balfour (now Chelmsford/City of Greater Sudbury) on May 1, 1973. His father was a volunteer firefighter serving the same community for 25 years before passing away.

The fire hall was located just down the street from where Claude lived. As a young boy, he would watch the firefighters train and practice with the Ministry of Labour and would volunteer to be a casualty in the scenarios they would run.

Claude watched everything his father and the other firefighters did and learned how they operated. From watching his father and the others, he knew he would be a volunteer firefighter when he grew up, “no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

As a young volunteer firefighter, Claude would be in school and the town siren would sound, prompting his teachers to say to him, “Don’t you hear the siren?” And Claude would promptly leave to respond to the call.

In those days, the siren was located at the fire halls and was activated by the first firefighter responding to the hall. The siren could be set for different lengths of time with longer durations for more serious calls. The siren had a 1,000-foot radius, which was sufficient to reach everyone in town at that time.

When he got older, Claude moved into a house near his parents. There were many days where Claude and his father would respond to calls at the same time. Neighbours often watched to see who would reach the station first, Claude or his father.

The community Claude grew up in was close-knit, like all the communities before amalgamation in 2000. Each community (Rayside, Balfour, Levack, Dowling, Chelmsford, Azilda, and others) was located nearby, and local volunteers would compete in training competitions every year. This was important as these communities had mutual aid agreements to support each other in responding to serious emergency events. They learned how to properly fill and lay sandbags when there was flooding, which occurred regularly.

I asked Claude about what it means to be a volunteer firefighter. He told me that in deciding whether or not to become a VFF, “a person has to discuss the matter with his family members as all will be affected by his commitment.” He also said that the community would expect you to be committed to the job and make certain personal sacrifices to be a volunteer. “You do it to help the people you live with,” says Claude.

Talking about volunteer firefighter misconceptions, Claude said that many people believe volunteer firefighters don’t have the proper training or expertise to do their work. Volunteer firefighters are members of the community, and they have an amazing variety of skills and abilities. On a fire scene, many construction trades are often present—from electricians to plumbers to carpenters—as well as paramedics, health and safety experts, and others with different skills.

Claude stressed that being a volunteer means putting in the time to learn and grow, to train, and respond to calls. Volunteers are lifelong learners.

In his personal time, Claude likes to go deer hunting with his two sons, one of whom is also a volunteer firefighter in Greater Sudbury. He enjoys being alone in his tree stand, with his sons in their own stands a quarter mile off or more, and sitting in quiet silence for hours at a time.

Maybe it’s the solitude of the deer hunt that helps Claude recharge. Maybe it’s the support of his family, fellow volunteers, and community. But one thing is certain. No matter what time it is, Claude is always ready to answer the call.

Captain Claude Daoust, Station 11, Chelmsford, received an award for 45 years of service as a volunteer firefighter in the fall of 2019 before the pandemic. He is pictured at the ceremony with his son Eric, who is also a volunteer firefighter (Statio

Answering the Call

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