In his own words

What is a routine day like for
you?: ‘We're now averaging a
minimum of two mectings. Be-
ing a smaller department the
fire chief still responds to calls
and that’s unusual. Most of my
day is spent administering the
fire department.

“I'll have meetings with the
men on different things.
You're dealing with the union
all the time on different issues.
Our union is great here and the
relationship is really good be-
tween management and the
union.

“We aiso deal with council
issues. Everything that goes on
at the city comes through the
fire department, through my
desk. For example, we'll be
making recommendations on
the new Low Level Road pro-
posal. That's’ a dangerous-
goods area and the road could
be raised higher up.

“We sit down and go over
these issues and have a think

‘tank session with our chief of-

ficers.’”

What do you like to do to

From page 42

“He kind of said that this was’

the place to be. 1 knew all about
the job from when I was just a
little kid. It wasn’t anything real
new. to me,’’ says Curnming. “1
knew what I was getting into. He
(father) lived a dandy life working
here. So I started and have en-
joyed it the whole way.”’

When asked: what the hardest
part of iis iob.is.Cumming says
there is no hard part of the job
for him because he enjoys: all

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relax when you're not on the
job?: ‘I've been involved with
just about every sport during
my life. I’ve played a lot of
soccer. I’m heavy into water-
skiing, which ! still do. 1 do
have a summer home which
Pve built with my friends and |
do a lot of water-skiing up
there.

“Pm in the sporting field for
my relaxation.’’

What do you think you might
be doing if you were not in this
line of work?: ‘‘I’ve never real-
ty thought about that. When I
was a kid I started working for
the city and I had the cppor-
tunity to get into some heavy
equipment when I was 19. That
was a lot of fun.

“But I coutda’t think today
of ever having to do that for a
living, bouncing around on
heavy equipment all your life.
So then I goi into the firehall
and every day’s been good
since,

“| haven’t put 10 minutes of
thought into doing anything
else.”

aspects of his work. He adds that
there has not been a day in his ca-
reer that he has not enjoyed com-
ing to work.

But Cumming, who has a staff
of 60, would probably admit there
is one part of the job he, and
every other firefighter, does not
like. And that’s the bad calls they
sometinies respond to.

He remembers one such call in
particular that occurred about
four years ago.

“Tl was on one bad call not too
fong ago and that «vas when four
kids got shot down on Fourth
(Street) and then the father com-

PONS 3
NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

THE NORTH Vancouver City Fire Department, with a staff of 60, is smaller than most and Cumming
(shown here talking with firaman Peter Schmidt) still responds to calis if needed. .

miitted suicide. You couldn’t get
anything worse.

“The fire was minimal. He (fa-
ther) had set the fire and the
smeke’s pouring out the window
and if it was a typical house fire
then we would have just made
mincemeat out of it.

**But here you had police out
on the street, all guns drawn. Now
we have to get in and get the fire.
And of course, shortly after,
we’re bringing out five bodies.
That’s not very nice. That's dif-
ficult."’: .

On a call like that, says Cumm-
ing, the fire department will bring

in psychologists to help
firefighters deal with the emo-
tional stress caused by such a call.

Cumming says everyone has to
talk about the cali and what
they're feeling.

Another way firefighters vent
stress, he says, is through humor.

“Oh, they’re just lunatics. You
wouldn’t believe the things that go
on around here,’’ says Cumming.
“But a lot of it is just to get the
pressure off. But the humor is just
unbelievable. You wouldn’t allow
half of it outside the door.*’

While Cumming is now an ad-
ministrator, he will still attend a-

fire scene if he has to. That is
unusual for most fire chiefs, he
says. But because the North Van-

‘couver City Fire Department is

smaller than most, the lacl of
manpower results in Cumming’s
being sent ona call. :

‘in most fire departments the
fire chief shows up at.a call later
on. He does most of the ad-
ministrative type of work. I cer-
tainly do that, but. if my other
chief officers are not here and the
bei rings, I'll get up and Pil res-
pond first to these calls,’? Cumm-
ing says.

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