With a young family here at home, but skills needed urgently elsewhere in the province, Cowichan’s Brandon Allen is headed to the Interior to battle the wildfires.
Allen got the call Tuesday that his group, which works for Iverson Forest Management, would be going to the fire zone. He was part of a five-man crew bound for Williams Lake on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Cowichan Tribes member had his gear packed for days in anticipation and made the tough decision to quit his job as a chainsaw operator at another forest company so he could serve the province.
“As soon as I heard it was a state of emergency I packed my bags,” said the father of five. “Its the adrenaline rush that gets me.”
But his desire to fight fires goes deeper than just the rush.
Allen’s father Michael Allen is currently working for Khowutzun Forestry and fighting the Harrison Hot Springs wildfire. His dad is the reason he grew up dreaming of being a firefighter.
“I’ve always wanted to be one,” he said. “Since I was a kid.”
The stories his dad tells him upon returning from fires stoked his own passion for the profession.
Hard work and determination to be hired landed Allen his first job with Khowutzun Forestry where he spent three years working on local fires in the coastal region.
“This year I signed up with Iverson Forestry and was hired on the spot,” he said.
Loaded up with his occupational first aid with transportation endorsement and a valid class 5 drivers licence, which can almost guarantee a job in the fire suppression realm, his experience bolsters his resume.
It’s those qualifications and his work ethic that have him confident he’ll find work again quickly upon returning home.
“Hard work keeps my job options open,” he said.
Allen expects to spend a two-week shift in the Interior before getting a break.
Meanwhile he’ll miss his two-year-old daughter’s birthday.
No doubt the best present for his daughter though, would be the fire extinguished and her daddy home safe and sound.