Art by John McDonald
Firefighting
For six years, John served as a volunteer Firefighter and First Responder with the Lakeland and District Fire Department in Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan. This rural fire department is among the largest in Saskatchewan, serving four municipalities in a service area approximately 1540 square kilometres. John was trained in Fire Suppression (both structure and wildland), Vehicle Extraction, First Aid, Emergency Medical Response and many other skills required to save lives and property. In 2010, John was certified and registered as a First Responder, which trained him to respond to 911 medical emergency calls. John was decorated by the Department in 2010 for saving the life of the Fire Chief during a structure fire. John was also certified in 2012 to become an Emergency Medical Dispatcher. In 2015, John was part of the 1600 firefighters who fought the massive forest fires in northern Saskatchewan. His crew spent two weeks fighting the fires threatening the Montreal Lake Cree Nation. John left the Fire Service in 2016, after being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Since leaving the Fire Service, John have devoted much of his time returning to civilian life and his literary and artistic career. He have also become an advocate for Firefighters and First Responders. His goal is to have Firefighters and EMS personnel as veterans and warriors in their own right, because they too have put on a uniform, answered the Call, served their country and their communities, risked their lives, and engaged their enemy in combat. John remains deeply proud of his service in uniform, and he continues to push that the sacrifices of Firefighters and First Responders should also be honoured and recognized alongside military veterans.
In 2021, John joined the British Fire Services Association as a Retired International Member, and was awarded the BFSA Commendation Medal for a 2010 event in which he saved a fellow firefighter's life on a call.