La Ronge FD sees significant jump in calls for service over 10 year period
Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Northern Advocate
The La Ronge Regional Fire Department held an Open House on Oct. 9 after an active summer, according to Chief Keaton Cloud, who spoke with the Northern Advocate.
The summer season had been very busy, particularly with the wildfires coming into the community in June, which resulted in evacuations.
“We’re looking forward to a nice, hopefully slow winter for us to recover,” Cloud said.
During the wildfire season, one fire particularly came into Town and two were close, he added.
“We lost some houses out at Eagle Point. We lost obviously Robertsons and Rona, and one house on the reserve … right near the Band Office … It was a very trying time for our crew for sure,” Cloud said.
While it was trying, “we had some high points. At the end of the day, all the fire departments that came up, that came and helped us and our own crew, including the wildfire crew, we managed to stop the beast; the monster and held it back. We’re fortunate enough to have, for the most part, our town still standing.”
The wildfires came in close behind Bigstone, Big Rocks, the airport, and the Industrial area/ Sire jumped from McGibbon Bay and went towards Nut Point Campground. Control burns were used to divert the fire, he said.
At the airport, the Tanker Base and a weather radar dome were lost and “at one point there was flames going up on the runway,” Cloud said.
2025 was the busiest year yet, Cloud said.
“We’re at 303 calls; last year we were 301,” he said, on Oct. 9.
“To give you a reference, 10 years ago we were at 85-90 calls for a year, so, in just 10 years we’ve grown quite a bit on fire calls, and we only do fire, we don’t do any medical.”
The fire department does extractions from vehicles, but no medical response.
They train regularly, which includes water rescue and preparing themselves to do their job.
“Training, just in general for the fire department, we do every two weeks.
“Every two weeks is something different.”
In terms of equipment, they have a “wildland apparatus, basically another pumper, new fire truck, which is just in the design stages, Cloud said.
“That won’t be delivered until the middle of 2027 …”It replaces our old 1998 bumper that we have right now.”
The Fire Department has a full contingent of firefighters, 25,” Cloud said, adding their capacity is 30.
They have a recruitment happening now that will continue through November and December with hiring probably happening in January “and get them all trained up,” Cloud said.
Training firefighters together rather than a few at a time, also helps with bonding, which, Cloud said “is huge” for firefighters.
“If a team isn’t working together you’ll typically have low attendance numbers … if the team is fighting or, you know, something, if there’s one doesn’t like the other, it creates toxicidity and toxicity is very dangerous in the fire service,” he said.
An Infant Car Seat inspection was also held in conjunction with the Open House, to give parents an opportunity to make sure their child seats are installed safely.
