A new rural fire chief, Daniel Ross, former fire chief of Charlie Lake Fire Department, will be joining the Kneehill County Protective Services Department on Tuesday, May 22.
Kneehill County Council set the Rural Fire Strategy as one if its primary strategic goals to accomplish in 2018. The fire strategy is a key document which will provide guidance for Council to ensure the protection of Kneehill County residents in regards to a rural focused fire service.
Ross joined the military out of high school serving six years with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based out of Victoria, BC, and Calgary, AB, which included two United Nations Peacekeeping Missions to Croatia. He then became a military firefighter for the remaining 14 years of his military career, including serving one tour in Afghanistan and completing various fire service certifications such as Firefighter Level 2, Hazardous Materials Technician and all four levels of Fire Officer certification as well as a Bachelor Degree in Business.
he retired from the military in 2011 and moved into municipal firefighting with Yellowhead County as a Deputy Fire Chief for nine departments. After six years with the YCFD, Dan continued to expand his portfolio by becoming the Manager of Emergency Services and Fire Chief for the Peace River Regional District where he received his Chief Fire Officer Designation, becoming recognized as member of the International Association of Fire Engineers.
Ross has a daughter in Lethbridge and will be welcoming his first grandchild shortly. When not in the fire station, Ross spends as much time as possible camping around Alberta.
He is looking forward to the new adventures with Kneehill County, and is anxious to start working with our staff and the fire departments of the area.

After the brunt force mother nature displayed last week, the Wayne Community Association (WCA) is not rolling over in the aftermath.

The Mail spoke with WCA president Fred Dayman about the damages the Wayne Community Hall has sustained due to the flooding of the Rosebud River.
“They are tearing out the drywall, pulling out the carpets, furnace and hot water tank. The fridge and stove will have to be replaced,” said Dayman. “There has been definite damage to the little hall for sure.”
Dayman was proactive in his thinking by moving all furniture and other items to a higher level before the flood hit the small community. A foot of water was found in the basement but everything moved remained intact.
“It’s gone down now but our campground area has about a foot and a half to two feet of silt in places so there is going to be a lot of cleanup for that,” said Dayman.
Insurance has yet to kick in for the hall but they are still in need of big equipment for the campground like a grader, trucks, bobcat and a front-end loader. A bobcat or front-end loader for a day would help with preliminary cleanup.
The Town of Drumheller has promised the association they would assist them with this cleanup but are currently working on Spring Clean-Up around town.
“Things have to dry out anyway, so it may work out okay by the time they are done. Hopefully, we are going to be able to get their equipment down here and clean most of it up,” he said.
A small volunteer crew came in on Saturday, April 28, to help remove furniture and other items out of the hall so workers can do the proper repairs needed.
Dayman reported they found one foot of silt in the camp kitchen which has since been cleaned out as well as the maintenance shed and outhouses.
“We had a good bit of support on Saturday so all-in-all so far so good. We will need a little more to help clean around the picnic tables and stuff once we get the sand out of there,” said Dayman.
“Hopefully the sun keeps shining and the wind keeps blowing.”

Photo above: Fred Dayman of the Wayne Community Association surveys the damage caused by the surge of the Rosebud River last week as it tore through Wayne, damaging the community hall and its facilities. Volunteers in the community are banding together to get the hall back into shape.
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