In a region where wildfires can threaten communities with little warning, firefighters in and around Slave Lake train for far more than structure fires.

The community has long served as a regional base for firefighting and emergency training, bringing together municipal firefighters, wildland crews, and other emergency agencies.

Now, the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service is looking to build on that role and establish Slave Lake as a destination for fire training in Alberta.

That regional cooperation was on display recently when a crew from Lac La Biche Fire Services toured the Slave Lake Fire Hall. The crew learned about structural firefighting techniques, including door-breaking procedures and vehicle rescues using hydraulic tools.

The visit was part of a summer program that has also seen the Lac La Biche crew take part in wildfire mop-up operations and work alongside firefighters from other northern communities.

But structural firefighting is only one part of the training taking place in Slave Lake.

The community is located in the Slave Lake Forest Area, one of Alberta Wildfire’s operational areas, and has a long history of cooperation between municipal firefighters and provincial wildfire personnel.

In April, Slave Lake Forestry used the fire hall for physical fitness testing of recruits and returning wildland firefighters. LSRFS and Forestry also conducted two days of aircraft-crash training together, while the fire hall hosted an Alberta Emergency Management Agency ICS 200 course involving municipal employees and firefighters.

The region’s aerial firefighting resources are also undergoing regular training.

In a post published Aug. 12, Alberta Wildfire highlighted a recent training exercise in the Slave Lake Forest Area involving a birddog pilot and an Air Attack Officer.

The pair worked together to identify designated targets on the ground before directing airtankers where to drop water.

Alberta Wildfire said this type of training is conducted throughout the wildfire season to keep air and ground resources ready to respond.

The exercise illustrates another specialized aspect of wildfire response in the region. Birddog aircraft and Air Attack Officers help coordinate aerial firefighting operations, identifying targets and directing airtankers while managing the airspace around a fire.

The Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service has also developed specialized expertise in wildland-urban interface, or WUI, firefighting.

The Town of Slave Lake has previously described WUI training developed through its FireSmart program as including basic, advanced and hazard-reduction-burning programs, with some of the material being considered for use as a provincial standard.

That training has attracted firefighters from outside the immediate area. In 2024, five Big Lakes County firefighters travelled to Slave Lake for a three-day WUI course, while regional training also covered pressurized fuels.

The regional connection extends to the next generation of firefighters as well.

The LSRFS Future Firefighter program, for youth aged 14 to 17, introduces participants to wildland firefighting, wildfire operations, aerial operations, helicopter and waterbomber operations, vehicle extrication and search and rescue. The program involves LSRFS, Alberta Forestry and other emergency agencies.

Slave Lake’s location is one reason the community has become an important meeting point for these different areas of firefighting.

The community is surrounded by boreal forest and serves as the headquarters of the Slave Lake Forest Area, while also being home to the regional municipal fire service. The Slave Lake Airtanker Base also supports wildfire response in the area.

That means firefighters and emergency personnel working in the community have access to a combination of municipal firefighting facilities, wildland expertise and wildfire-response infrastructure that is unusual for a community of Slave Lake’s size.

The need for that capacity extends beyond the community itself.

LSRFS crews are regularly called upon to assist other jurisdictions. In 2023, the service reported sending units and firefighters to 13 communities in Alberta and the Northwest Territories to assist with emergencies, following a significant increase in wildland-fire activity.

That experience means firefighters from Slave Lake can find themselves working alongside crews from communities they have trained with — and the relationships built through regional training can become important when a major wildfire or other emergency requires a coordinated response. The Town has identified expanding this training capacity as a goal. Its 2025 operating budget says LSRFS wants to become a “destination for fire training in Alberta” and is working with education partners and other organizations to offer certified fire training courses.

Maintaining that regional response capability, however, depends on having enough trained firefighters.

LSRFS currently has about 125 paid-on-call and volunteer firefighters, according to the M.D. of Lesser Slave River, and continues to accept expressions of interest from people interested in becoming volunteer firefighters.

Applicants must have a valid Alberta Class 5 driver’s licence, Grade 12 or equivalent, a criminal record and vulnerable-sector check, a driver’s abstract and the ability to pass the service’s physical-agility testing. First Aid/CPR and previous firefighting experience are considered assets.

At the Slave Lake station, firefighters are expected to commit approximately six hours per week, including three hours of scheduled training and an estimated three hours responding to emergency calls. The expected commitment at the Widewater, Smith and Flatbush stations is about three to four hours per week.

People interested in joining can submit an expression of interest to LSRFS and indicate their preferred fire hall.

For those not yet old enough to join, the Future Firefighter program provides an introduction to the work and the training involved.

As wildfire seasons continue to require cooperation among communities and agencies, Slave Lake’s role extends beyond responding to fires within its own boundaries.

The community is becoming a place where municipal firefighters, wildland crews and other emergency responders can train together, exchange expertise and build relationships before they are called upon to work together during an emergency.

The recent visit from Lac La Biche is one example of that broader approach, while the Aug. 12 Alberta Wildfire training exercise demonstrates that the region’s role extends from firefighters on the ground to the aircraft operating above them.

Together, those activities offer a glimpse of how Slave Lake’s existing firefighting infrastructure and its position in the province’s northern wildfire network could support an even larger regional training role in the years ahead.

William Hetherington
Lakeside Leader