Bjornson leaves a firefighting legacy

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This article was published 19/11/2020 (1753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Longtime Glenboro-South Cypress Fire Department Chief Steve Bjornson’s legacy will be felt for a long time to come.

Earlier this autumn, Bjornson retired after 47 years with the department, with deputy chief Steve Nelson succeeding him.

“I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Nelson said, adding that while they’ve always had a great group of people at the department, Bjornson’s contributions have been immeasurable.

Bjornson was born and raised on a farm just outside Glenboro, and except for approximately one year in Winnipeg, has spent his entire life in the Westman community.

In 1973, when he was 25 years of age and living only a block east of the fire hall of the day, he remembers a department member coming along and asking if he’d join.

“I said, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that.’”

A carpenter by trade, he figured his knowledge of how buildings are put together would be of use while beating down fires.

He was the department’s youngest member at the time, but he already knew all the members anyway.

“When you’re in a real community, you know everybody,” he said. “They were all great guys.”

Back then, the department operated out of a small space in what is now the Glenboro Curling Club’s lounge.

“When we first started, your gear was just a long black coat, and basically just glorified rubber boots,” he said with a chuckle, adding that at the time, they focused solely on defensive firefighting attacks.

“The guys didn’t have the equipment to do much by way of going inside for search and rescue,” he said, adding that this wouldn’t come until later.

In 1975, they relocated to a new building — an old municipal shed he helped renovate to accommodate fire department operations. Much later, Bjornson would win a bid to be the contractor for a new, modern fire hall they currently occupy.

He noted that he also helped with some minor renovations to the original hall, meaning he played a role in the construction or renovation of the department’s latest three buildings.

He joined the area ambulance service as an emergency medical responder in 1985, a volunteer role he filled for 13 years, and was appointed fire department chief in 1987.

In 1996, he was named co-ordinator and treasurer of Turtle Mountain Mutual Aid, one of 27 mutual aid districts in the province. He stepped down from this role only a couple of weeks ago.

Through all this and his work as a carpenter, he and wife Vera raised two sons, Corey and Daryl, who both followed in their father’s footsteps by pursuing careers in firefighting. The two boys’ earliest introduction to the excitement of firefighting was a pager that was set up in a half-circle shelf in a wall in their house that called their father to action at all times of day and night.

Bjornson cites various shared accomplishments during his 47 years with the fire department, including but not limited to upgrading equipment, hosting the Manitoba Firefighters Curling Championship in 2010 and taking part in various community fundraising efforts.

He credits instructor Garth McIntyre with bringing the fire department up to snuff on the latest training, and the department at large with making him feel good about retiring now.

Although he said the loss of an eye in a freak accident in September was the icing on the cake, he’d been considering stepping down for some time.

He’d been putting it off due to a love for what he does and a dedication to helping others, but at 72 years of age he decided it was time to step down.

“There’s a good group of guys there, about as good as they’ve ever been,” he said last week, on his 73rd birthday, adding that he has confidence the current group of 15 to 20 members will be more than capable of moving things forward.

It hasn’t been a financially lucrative career, but he said it has never been about the money and has always been about helping his community, which he’s proud to have done.

Despite retiring from the fire department, he still has some carpentry work lined up and hopes to remain abreast of the latest developments in area firefighting.

Either way, he said there’s no chance he leaves Glenboro any time soon.

“I’ll be staying here until death do us part.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB