Life and Death a Heartbeat Away on the Front Lines

Life and Death a Heartbeat Away on the Front Lines

 Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Firefighter Sven Hebbard knows first hand what it’s like being the first and last line of defense. Split second decisions that can mean the difference between life and death and the impact they can mean on the front lines.

He spent nearly two months this past summer fighting wildfires from Entwistle to Peers to Slave Lake to Peace River to Hay River to Enterprise and several other points in between those locales. He served with the Mannville Fire Department for the past four years and recently secured full-time employment with the Heritage Pointe Fire Station in Foothills County.

Before leaving Mannville for his new posting, Sven reflected on his journey as a firefighter and how it changed the trajectory of his life. “If it hadn’t been for Brad (Laurenson) I wouldn’t have started, and if it hadn’t been for Mike (Fundytus) I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Sven smiles wryly, thinking back to the times he would run into Laurenson, former Fire Chief of the Mannville Fire Department. “Every time I saw him, he would ask when am I joining the department.” He admits, “I don’t know what got into me.” When Brad asked him when he was going to join the department, he responded by asking him, “What time is practice?” Brad replied, “7 pm tonight.” True to his word, Sven showed up to practice and never stopped showing up to practice.     

In 2021, the County of Minburn took over fire services for the Mannville and Innisfree Fire Departments. He then realized that firefighting could be a fulltime job, and says from that point on, that “everything clicked” and he began to take more advanced courses with the support of Regional Fire Chief Mike Fundytus.

“Life allowed me to go on a lot of specialized training courses. I met a ton of people. Everyone was really good.”

The first course he went on was the Wildland Urban Interface course that was held in Barrhead. The three-day course allows firefighters to go on deployments such as the ones he was on this past summer. He then took a week-long Advanced Vehicle Extrication course in Leduc. That was followed by Northern Heat, a heavy live fire training in Peace River.

“My interest ran from there.” He took several other courses, and decided to start applying for fulltime work as a firefighter as a result. Sven has found his purpose and passion and embarking on a new career he never envisioned for himself.

He said most people don’t realize the nature or power of fire, but having rescued people and driving down grid roads at 120 kmph trying to out run the wildfire and get them to safety, he knows personally what it is like.

He recalled meeting a man who ignored evacuation orders. “He said he had lived there for 55 years and asked them to help put a ladder up for him to go on top of his roof. You have to make a conscious decision. You try to talk to them as much as you can. But you have to leave them there knowing the fire is coming, knowing they have a very high risk of dying, and you have to drive away. You have to look in your side mirror knowing you might be the last person they’re looking at. It’s all you can do. Then you go back through the gates of hell, fire literally going over top the truck and then go back. Some houses survived and others didn’t.”

He saw the aftermath of the wildfire in Enterprise, NWT. In less than five minutes, 51 homes had burned to the ground. “People don’t understand how fast things can change.”

Sven says you go through a wide range of emotions and was happy to be there to help the people and work alongside firefighters from western Canada, including local firefighters Bryson MacColl and Wyatt Gutsch. They all made a difference together and he couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the firefighting service.