At about 4:55 pm on June 16, 32 years to the day since he was hired as a junior firefighter, Powell River Fire Rescue fire chief Terry Peters will take his last call from emergency dispatch, then call it a career.
Peters is retiring, which is mandatory for firefighters when they turn 60. Reflecting on his long career, Peters said he is grateful and has no regrets.
He started in September of 1987 as a volunteer firefighter in Wildwood. He did that for four years. Then on June 16, 1991, he was hired as a paid firefighter.”
Firefighting was not Peters’ first career, having worked as a paramedic and a deputy sheriff, as well as serving a stint in the pulp and paper mill, working as a security guard and as a medic with his first aid ticket. While in the mill, he heard of an opportunity to become a career firefighter, but didn’t get the job when he first applied from the volunteer ranks. Later, there were several retirements and Peters was hired on.
At the time, his father, Raymond, was a captain in the fire department but the two did not overlap a great deal as they did not work on the same shift.
Peters started his service in the old Cranberry fire hall, which was shut down on September 29, 1994, according to his recollection.
“We did a little ceremony when we left that day, we drove the trucks around with sirens on and left the building,” said Peters.
He then transferred to the fire hall in Westview, with the understanding that it would be a temporary assignment. That has not turned out to be the case.
Several years into his career, Peters learned about a firefighter exchange program and thought it would be a unique opportunity. He talked to his fire chief, and then mayor Stewart Alsgard, asking for support, which he received. He transferred to a fire station in Tasmania in 2005 and uprooted his family for a whole year.
“They treated me very well,” said Peters. “We embraced Australian life, travelled and did all we could on our dime.
“They had far more staff than we did. I worked with a minimum of 12 people on every crew. The fellow I exchanged with didn’t believe me when I told him when he came here it would just be him and another guy on the truck, so it was an adjustment for him.”
Peters said he learned a great deal while on exchange.
“The whole point of the exercise was that we all learn from each other,” he added.
While abroad, Peters realized the benefits that firefighters in North America have are not the same in Australia. He said he reached out to the union here and a plan was worked on to get firefighters from other countries involved in a global alliance.
“That’s probably one of my biggest accomplishments and it’s for the betterment of everybody in our service,” said Peters. “It’s about making sure the public is protected and our firefighters are protected doing the job we love to do. We are a brotherhood and sisterhood of cooperation around the world.”
While Peters had an offer to stay in Australia, he and his family elected to return to Powell River after a year.
Boss on the ground
Returning to Canada as a regular firefighter, Peters started to work his way through the ranks. About a year after his return, he was appointed as a fire captain.
“As a captain, you’re leading your crew, you’re the boss on the ground and you’re the one making the decisions and calling the shots,” said Peters. “You’re challenged every day as a captain to deal with whatever problem you have at hand and there’s no call that’s the same.”
Peters worked his way into the executive ranks of Powell River Fire Rescue when he was promoted to assistant chief and training officer. In 2012, while serving as training officer, the Justice Institute of British Columbia honoured him for being the top training officer in the province.
“That was quite an honour for me,” said Peters.
He said paid on-call, or auxiliary firefighters here, were being trained to the standards as if they attended the justice institute academy, putting in 585 hours of training.
“It shows that our training was on task, doing what needed to be done, and ultimately, contributing to a better workforce,” said Peters, who was later promoted to deputy chief.
When fire chief Dan Ouellette retired in 2016, then City of Powell River chief administrative officer Mac Fraser appointed Peters as the new fire chief.
“Dan was a very good mentor,” said Peters. “I was very appreciative that I was offered the job.”
As well as looking after the men and women in his department, Peters said the promotion also made him much more involved in the politics of the city. One of the big issues during his tenure as fire chief has been the prospect of a new fire hall, which narrowly passed in an assent vote (referendum) in the October 2022 municipal election. City council has yet to deal with the issue.
“When we moved fully into the Westview fire hall, we were told not to get comfortable, because the city was looking into a new fire hall,” said Peters. “Cost for the facility at that time was being floated around as $2.5 million, which was raising eyebrows then.”
The assent vote quoted a figure of $7.5 million, but Peters said the architectural consultants figure the sum will be more than that.
Looking back on his career, Peters said he could have been a paramedic, a sheriff, he could have been driving a bus, or myriad other careers.
“However, I ended up down the road with the fire department and I’m very thankful I’ve managed to follow my way from the most junior guy to being the fire chief,” said Peters. “I worked there for 32 years and it was the best time. I did the best I could for the public but now I’m hanging up my hat and moving on. I know it’s time to go.”
On retirement day, Peters will turn in the keys to his fire chief’s truck, saddle up his old 1969 Chevelle “which needs some work,” and prepare for the next chapter.
