Diana Vandale has seen six fire chiefs come, and in the case of five of them, go.
But, despite working her way up to Deputy Chief, she never wanted the big seat.
“I’ve never applied to be chief,” she says. “In between a few of the chiefs, I was acting chief. One fire chief would leave and then we’d be waiting for the other one to be hired, so there was a few times that I kind of filled in the position. But I never wanted to be chief. I enjoy the job that I do. I enjoy the more hands on and less paperwork and not having to worry about it 25/7 either. I guess I am kind of 24/7 with my job but not to that extreme. I never really considered applying. I enjoy being a volunteer. And I think that being full-time would take that enjoyment away. Being a chief would be more than I would want to carry. I enjoy my job [looking after the trains at Conuma]. It’s just not something I wanted to do full time.”
One of the big changes she’s seen over the years is the amount of respect afforded to her. Not within the Tumbler Ridge department, but regionally and provincially.
“When I first joined the fire department, I would go to these training sessions or conferences, and the men did not take it seriously that a woman could be on the fire department. There were a lot of confrontations. Guys would say things like I wouldn’t be able to pull them out of a burning building or if they dropped I wouldn’t be able to help them. And there was a lot of negativity towards a woman being on the fire department. But you just have to work hard, and prove that you can do it. You have to rely on your fellow firefighters, but you also have to pull your weight. And once you show that you can actually pull your weight, the respect starts to grow.”
This was in the 1990s, when she started, but the idea that a woman couldn’t do a “man’s” job lasted for years. “The problem was multi-fold, because not only was I a woman but I was also a volunteer. And the full time members, they felt that volunteers were trying to take their jobs. I remember one time I was at a function, and a gentleman asked me how long I had been on the department and at that time it had been seven years. And I told him I was a volunteer and he had only been a full time career firefighter for one year, but I could definitely tell that he looked down on me for being a volunteer. But I was actually told at one point that I should stop being a firefighter and go back to the kitchen.”
But that has changed over the last few years, and Vandale is quick to point out that, while she got pushback from firefighters outside of town, she received nothing but support from her fellow firefighters in Tumbler Ridge. “I’ve never felt any discrimination from our department at all, they’ve always been fully accepting. You know, they’ve always had their arms open and fully been willing to train and teach and promote within the ranks. And it’s gotten better through the years. It no longer matters if you are a volunteer, paid on call or full time. And women are doing great things in the fire service now, and getting more opportunities to do so. I can think of at least ten firefighters who have worked in the department since I began.”
Indeed, it is that acceptance that has kept her working at the department for so long. “I love the camaraderie. We’re a big family. And I know those guys would do anything for me. They put their life on the line to save mine if needed. and we just have a great camaraderie. I also love learning, and there’s all these different courses you can take and all the different things you can learn. I love helping with fundraising for muscular dystrophy. I think I’ll still help out when they do their boot drive, because that was huge in my life too.
“And I love this town. I love helping the people in this town. You know you’re going to people and you know they’re not having their best day and you can be there and help them.”
Or at least, she says, you can try. It doesn’t always work out you know, improve that day, not always but you know sometimes there’s been good there’s been bad.”
One of the worst days was responding to a call that a couple had been hit by a car. “That was a hard one, because I used to carpool with Doreen [Dupras, one of the victims]. She and her boyfriend Paul [Trevisanutto] were hit and killed by her ex. I responded to that and Doreen was already dead when I got there. And that was a hard one, but you do what you have to do, because Paul was still alive at that time.” [Trevisanutto later died of his injuries.]
But the good, she says, does outweigh the bad. “I like living in a small town and knowing everyone. I like having that connection with people, because when you go to somebody— whether I know them or not—I try to be as compassionate as I can and help them in the best way that I can to try to make their day easier. I like that. I’ve done some odd things. I rubbed one guy’s leg because they were aching, and that was his focus: his legs were aching and that was the treatment he wanted and so that’s what I did until the ambulance came. I made his day that little bit better by doing that. I just like to help. It’s just very fulfilling to be able to help somebody in their time of need, you know, whether it’s with first responders or removing them from an entrapment or just giving them a hug, which I’ve done as well. When people are grieving or upset, just being there and showing them that you’re there for them, is huge. I think I get the most satisfaction out of that.”
Vandale has seen a lot of incidents in her time in Tumbler Ridge. The most memorable was the house explosion in 2009. Fire Chief Matt Treit was away at a Chief’s Convention, leaving her in charge. “I called Matt and told him ‘you need to come home, you need to come home now.’ And he was like, ‘I can’t.’ And I said: ‘yes, you can.’ That was, that was a huge one.”
Vandale says she got the call at 2:26 in the morning. “I was the duty officer, and as I was getting ready to respond a second page comes through, saying there’s been another house explosion on a different street. I went to the hall and told the guys to go to the call [on Wolverine] and I went to the other location. But it was just the noise from the one house explosion. Somebody thought something had happened on another street. But going up there and actually seeing the house gone? That was a big one.”
After volunteering for 27 years (well, 26 and a half, she points out, as the department moved to a paid on-call model earlier in the year), there is no reason needed to hang up the boots and the hat, but for Vandale, her reason is her daughter.
“Destiny is now in Prince George going University. I give two weekends a month to the fire department. And so I can’t leave town. I can’t go visit her in Prince George. I’d like to travel more to see her and when she comes here I’d like the freedom to be able to go hiking, fishing out of town shopping. Right from when I was pregnant with her up until she left, the fire department has always been there and I’ve always responded when the call has come: Christmas, Thanksgiving, whatever was happening, I’ve gone and helped. And she was always here when I come back, and now she’s not. My time with her is precious and I want to be able to spend as much time with her as I can without driving her crazy. She’s on her own but I’d like to be able to spend more time with her.
“I’ll tell you one story that Doug [Beale] loves to tell, and that’s when I was pregnant, I had 100% attendance. My water broke and I was duty officer. I went to the clinic and Matt came to the clinic and got command car and took over for me, so I could go to Dawson and have Destiny. I had her on a Tuesday, and on Wednesday I was at practice with her.”
Diana was a firefighter to outstanding dedication to the fire department, and to the Tumbler Ridge Firefighters Association, particularly with regards to her efforts in raising money for the fight against Muscular Dystrophy. Under her leadership, the MD Committee has raised in excess of $100,000 during her time, which very impressive for a town the size of Tumbler Ridge.
She was someone who was never afraid to get her hands dirty, never backed down from any situation, and despite being one of the few female firefighters, never expected to be treated differently from any other firefighter. She held herself to the same standard as every other firefighter, and expected that others would hold her to that same standard as well.
When Diana started, I was deputy chief. In 1998, I became the full time chief. She moved up in the ranks throughout her career, and what she did was quite an achievement The fire department is mostly a boys club even today, but Diana broke the mould and made it a better place to be. Not only by being a good firefighter, but by bringing a different perspective to the department.
The thing I remember most about her is she was always there. She was always there when needed. She was one of those people you could count on.
Congratulations for serving 27 years on a volunteer dept. She made it a professional department. Just because volunteer firefighters are not being paid, doesn’t mean it’s not professional. A firefighter needs to be reliable, dependable and committed and she’s all those things. She helped make the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department a better place.
Former Chief Shorty Smith
Personally, she was someone who was very supportive of me during my time as fire chief in Tumbler Ridge, and someone who I knew always had the best interest of the fire department in mind.
Former Chief Matt Treit
An Everlasting Impression While they might not realize it, the residents and visitors of Tumbler Ridge have benefited from the tireless and selfless commitment given by one specific person for over a quarter of a century. Since 1994, Deputy Fire Chief Diana Vandale has made the pursuit of public safety a top priority in her life, often putting the safety of others ahead of anything else. Now she has decided that it is time to turn the page. To finish that chapter of her life and has announced her retirement from the fire service. November 10th, 2021 will be Deputy Vandale’s last official day, and fittingly, it will also be her 27th years of service anniversary date. While I could write on for days about the exceptional professionalism and impressive acumen that Deputy Vandale has displayed during her tenure, in the interest of column space, I’ll just summarize the high points.
During her service to the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department, Deputy Vandale has surmounted some impressive statistics to say the least. She is the only member in the history of the department to reach over 4000 hours of training hours. To put that into perspective, it is the same as training 24 hours a day for over 5 months straight. She also has provided over 1200 hours of emergency response to those in their time of need. At the drop of a hat, she was there. While these achievements are truly extraordinary, most incredible is her steadfast commitment to Muscular Dystrophy Canada. Under her direct leadership, Tumbler Ridge firefighters have raised $150,000 through fundraising efforts in order to help make muscle move and support vital research of this debilitating disease.
While statistics imperially depict her contributions to the fire service in Tumbler Ridge, what cannot be overstated is her character and how that will leave an ever-lasting impression. In a time when being a woman in the fire service was still new and not looked fairly upon in some circles, Deputy Vandale rose to the occasion, meeting every objective given; crushing every obstacle in her way. Those who stood alongside her in those early days knew from the very beginning that she had what it took and that was destined for greater things. As she rose through the ranks in stride, she became directly responsible for molding and guiding firefighters her junior. Throughout her career she has set the unofficial standard for what firefighters, both men and women, are measured against, and I can attest that I would not be the Fire Chief I am today without Diana Vandale being a part of my upbringing. Undoubtedly, many others would say the same if you asked them.
While it is terribly bittersweet to bid adieu to a tremendous, and fierce comrade, we know that it is good bye for now, not good bye forever. Elizabeth Andrews is quoted as saying that “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” You will always be a part of ours.
Congratulations and happy retirement. You’ve certainly earned it.
Fire Chief Dustin Curry
On behalf of the members of the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
