A Chestermere, Alta., family is grateful for some extraordinary service from their local fire department.
Satvir Sahota was setting up holiday lights at the behest of his 12-year-old daughter when the “heavy industrial ladder” he’s used countless times before broke in half.
“It just decided to snap in half and I fell about 13 feet,” Sahota said while laying in bed on Thursday waiting for surgery. “Luckily, I stayed on the ladder, but the impact ended up breaking my ankle.”
With the help of a neighbour, Sahota called 911 and paramedics ended up transporting him to the emergency department in nearby Strathmore, Alta.
As often happens, firefighters also arrived to the emergency call to provide assistance. Seeing that the EMS crew had things well in hand, the firefighters left the scene, Sahota said.
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When he arrived at the Strathmore emergency department, Sahota got a call from his neighbour informing him the fire department had returned to his home.
“‘Is everything okay?’ ‘They’re taking a look at your house and I think they’re doing their lights for you,’” Sahota recalled the conversation.
In disbelief, Sahota watched the work being done via his security camera feed on his smartphone.
“They ended up opening all the boxes that were scattered over the front yard. And they did a marvelous job. Like, I was blown away just sitting in the ER,” he said.
“I don’t quite remember if I ended up telling them it was for my daughter or not.”
Sahota said his daughter was also overwhelmed by the firefighters volunteering their time to finish the task her father started.
“She kind of feels bad at the same time because Dad got hurt, but she got her Christmas lights this year and she was super stoked about that. So she’s looking forward to the visit to the fire department with her mother,” Sahota said.
According to the City of Chestermere’s website, the Chestermere Fire Service includes 27 members made up of four, six-person crews that work a rotation of 10- and 14-hour shifts.
Once he’s out of the hospital and back on his feet, Sahota plans on thanking the firefighters in person.
“I’m still overwhelmed at what these guys do. They spent a good four hours out of their time just setting this up, making sure it was perfect,” he said.
“I have talked to them through social media chats and told them I will be coming to visit them once I’m on my feet again. I will definitely get them lunch and dinner here for sure.”