Deacon Don Logan a Man of Service

Deacon Don Logan a Man of Service

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Deacon Don Logan is a man of service. He serves as Deacon of Holy Name of Jesus parish in Vermilion as well as officiating masses at Saint Columba Catholic Church in Clandonald and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Derwent. He is also an active firefighter and chaplain with the Der went Fire Department.

Deacon Don was ordained in 2008. He said he was thinking about retirement and decided to take theological studies in order to become a permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church. He took four years of part-time studies before he officially became a Deacon.

Prior to that he worked for the Provincial Government in the department of Advanced Education as a senior investigator for 17 years.

Deacon Don has been Chaplain with the Derwent Fire Department for the past two years and said his role is an extension of his past and current career. He describes his role with the fire department as one of helping fellow firefighters when they encounter difficult situations.

He said it is important to talk to firefighters about what they experience whether it’s an accident or fire as it helps

first responders deal with these situations and helps to avoid Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) and permanent disabling of an individual. “We’re very fortunate in our department that we haven’t had to deal with PTSD. He said the team at the Derwent Fire Department, “is doing well with the guys having excellent coping skills and ways to deal with the stresses we face in our work.

Deacon Don said theAlberta Critical Incident Peer Network, (ACIPN) is set up to assist in critical incident stress management. They can send people out to different locations to help first responders deal withdifficult situations. He previously volunteered with organization. He said ACIPN “provides stress debriefing and defusing opportunities to teams and individuals who request it when they experience a particularly stressful event in the course of their duties from a person or team who work in the same field.”

ACIPN allows members access additional supports and assistance with group interventions, surveillance and assessment, immediate access to 24/7 support via email or telephone as well as access to continuing education, workshops, lectures and seminars.

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