Though passionate about his profession, Sicamous fire chief Brett Ogino is ready for a change.

After close to 30 years of serving his community as a firefighter, 20 as fire chief, Ogino will be retiring from the fire department on March 20.

91裸聊视频淔or me it will be a nice change,91裸聊视频� said Ogino.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been a little stressful, well, actually, since I came on full-time (as fire chief) in 2016 91裸聊视频� we91裸聊视频檝e had some pretty crazy years. It will be a nice break to have a summer where I91裸聊视频檓 not going, 91裸聊视频極h sh*t, here we go again!91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

In December, Ogino91裸聊视频檚 spouse, Vivian, stepped away from a career of more than 10 years with the fire department. In addition to administrative work, Vivian drove fire trucks and was involved in practices and exercises.

Both are looking forward to doing some travelling 91裸聊视频� as a couple, and not work related.

91裸聊视频淲e haven91裸聊视频檛 had a decent holiday in, boy, I think it was 201891裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� laughed Vivian. 91裸聊视频淥therwise, we haven91裸聊视频檛91裸聊视频� had a real holiday for a long time. So I91裸聊视频檓 looking forward to that and just having 91裸聊视频� just time. Time together.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢y holidays used to be going out on deployments,91裸聊视频� said Ogino. 91裸聊视频�(Vivian) never really liked that.91裸聊视频�

His career with the Sicamous Fire Department began in 1995. He said he91裸聊视频檇 been taking some Tuesday evening courses for Power and Sail Squadron that had come to an end, and was looking for something else to do.

91裸聊视频淚 decided I91裸聊视频檓 going to go to a fire practice and see what it91裸聊视频檚 all about91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� said Ogino. 91裸聊视频淚 really got hooked on it and yeah, 28 years later and I91裸聊视频檓 saying 91裸聊视频極K, that91裸聊视频檚 a good, solid bit of time put in.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Asked if he remembered his first fire response, Ogino said the first big one he attended was a structure fire.

91裸聊视频淚t was scary, I can tell you that,91裸聊视频� he recalled, explaining how, when at the scene, firefighters heard loud popping noises going off inside the burning home.

91裸聊视频淭he homeowner said, 91裸聊视频業t91裸聊视频檚 ammunition91裸聊视频�, so we91裸聊视频檙e ducking behind cars, not knowing that ammunition not loaded into a weapon isn91裸聊视频檛 really that dangerous. But we didn91裸聊视频檛 know that at the time,91裸聊视频� he laughed.

91裸聊视频淥nce the ammunition finished popping off we went inside.

91裸聊视频淚 remember the guy I was working with, I told him not to go out onto the floor because the centre of it had been burned out.

91裸聊视频淪ure enough, he went out there and fell through the floor. He only dropped about five feet, but still, it was pretty scary to watch him kind of half disappear in front of you.

91裸聊视频淚 had to pull him out. It was an exciting first major call for sure.91裸聊视频�

Not surprisingly, change has been a constant during Ogino91裸聊视频檚 time with the fire department, from factors that determine how a fire response is handled, to the types of responses firefighters are trained for.

Residential construction is one of those factors.

Ogino said when he started with the fire department, most homes were solid wood construction with little to no particleboard.

91裸聊视频淣ow everything has particleboard in it, including flooring, which burns incredibly fast, really hot and fails very quickly,91裸聊视频� he said.

However, ongoing training helps equip firefighters to meet such changes and other challenging conditions.

91裸聊视频淚 think a big change for the positive is greatly improved training requirements, building code requirements have been constantly changing, improving and in general getting better91裸聊视频� and within the department, we91裸聊视频檝e gone from only doing fires, to now doing swift-water rescues, we do ice rescues and we91裸聊视频檙e looking to take on auto extrication91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� said Ogino.

Another positive has been the ongoing support the fire department has received from the community and the district.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e quite fortunate in Sicamous having a good, supportive municipality91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� said Ogino.

Several extreme events were part of those 91裸聊视频渃razy years91裸聊视频� Brett referred to, including the destructive 2012 debris flow in Two Mile and, more recently, the Two Mile Creek wildfire in 2021.

Another increasingly common occurrence is the deployment of Sicamous firefighters to wildfire-threatened communities elsewhere in the province.

In 2023, that included West Kelowna and the North Shuswap.

91裸聊视频淚 know from my crew, they like going out and helping other communities, they take a lot of pride in it,91裸聊视频� said Ogino, who is hopeful Sicamous91裸聊视频� next fire chief will support the continuation of this work.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a lot of work, it91裸聊视频檚 a lot more stress because you91裸聊视频檝e got your crews all over the place and you don91裸聊视频檛 have nearly the same control as you do when they91裸聊视频檙e at home.91裸聊视频�

Ogino said his decision to retire was also driven by the loss his brother, Michael Ogino, who passed away in September.

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91裸聊视频淭his past summer, being as crazy as it was, it meant a lot of stress for me,91裸聊视频� said Brett.

91裸聊视频淚 had a sick brother who passed away as well 91裸聊视频� that made it much worse 91裸聊视频� that kind of realization that, 91裸聊视频極K, that91裸聊视频檚 not good, he91裸聊视频檚 only two years older than me and he91裸聊视频檚 passed away.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭hat was more of the realization for me. I91裸聊视频檝e got a limited lifespan, maybe I should start enjoying it and relaxing a little bit in the summer.91裸聊视频�

When he retires in March, Ogino said he91裸聊视频檚 also looking forward to spending time golfing and riding his e-bike.

And while he may be done with the fire department, Brett said he91裸聊视频檚 open to helping out with future emergency situations in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.

91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 think I91裸聊视频檒l step so far back that I won91裸聊视频檛 have anything to do with emergencies at all,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 funny. I91裸聊视频檝e always been a firm believer in continuing education. I91裸聊视频檓 doing an emergency operations centre ops section course in February, so it91裸聊视频檚 like, well, you never know. If the CSRD has another major emergency, maybe I can help out there.

91裸聊视频淢y wife will probably shoot me!91裸聊视频�

Vivian has other plans.

91裸聊视频淚 just want to relax91裸聊视频� and not have a pager going off in the middle of the night. I want to get all the pagers and all of the radios out of the house. I can91裸聊视频檛 wait to have that just gone and be somebody else91裸聊视频檚 problem,91裸聊视频漵he laughed.

91裸聊视频淵ou know, I91裸聊视频檓 not going to calls but that doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean it doesn91裸聊视频檛 wake me up when he91裸聊视频檚 going, or that I91裸聊视频檓 not concerned with what91裸聊视频檚 going on at the calls91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭here was five weekends in a row where he was gone, training somebody or he was being trained.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檒l be glad to have those times together.91裸聊视频�