For volunteer firefighters at Station #4 in Belleville, Ont.’s Thurlow ward, it may be business as usual for now, but a change is coming at the end of the month as volunteer station commander Cliff Christopher gets ready to hang up his helmet.
“It’s tough,” says Christopher.
“I made a lot of good friends here, seen a lot of bad stuff, helped people — helped a lot of people.”
After 36 years as a volunteer firefighter, Christopher says he’s leaving the department in good hands, with a great crew that’ll step up and continue on.
“Lots of firefighters come here to learn, to become full-time firefighters and advance their motivations into a full-time job,” he says.
“Many of them, even in the city of Belleville, came through here.”
That includes Belleville Fire’s deputy chief Don Carter, who remembers when Christopher was his captain.
“Oh, he’s been a huge role model,” says Carter.
“He was a role model of mine, his son is currently on with Belleville Fire and Emergency Services as a senior fire inspector. And not just myself and his son Kyle, numerous others.”
“We’re really going to miss him,” adds Joanne Cleary, a volunteer lieutenant firefighter at Station #4.
“He’s brought a lot to the community and to all the volunteers, and he’s been a great mentor.”
Being a mentor to current firefighters is a sentiment felt by most at Station #4.
“Cliff’s been a really good mentor, there’s a lot of knowledge that’s leaving with him when he’s finally done at the end of the month,” says volunteer lieutenant firefighter Jason Allen.
“It’s going to be different not having him on scene with all his knowledge.”
Roughly half of Belleville’s firefighters are volunteers, responding whenever their pager goes off.
“Regardless of whether you’re having Christmas dinner, which has happened several times, Thanksgiving dinner, middle of the night, you know, middle of the work day at work — you respond,” says Christopher.
“You know you’re going there to help somebody that’s in need.”
As this chapter closes for Christopher, he leaves confident in the team of volunteers that follows him.
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