A photo of all of the fire departments who competed, along with the organizers and volunteers of the event. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Blazing Battle

Fire departments compete in P.A. for chance to head to Calgary for national event

Sep 16, 2025 | 1:20 PM

Fire departments from around Prince Albert and the province were in the city this past weekend, battling in the 2025 Saskatchewan First Nation Firefighting Competition.

The event is held annually in P.A. and tests crews in a series of different events, called evolutions, with the winning department earning a chance to represent the region at the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council’s (NIFSC) 36th annual National Firefighting Competition in Calgary next month.

Michelle Vandevord is the director of Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management and said it’s a great way for departments to showcase their skills and abilities in a fun and competitive atmosphere.

“There’s a lot of sportsmanship, and people look forward to this all year long. They practice really hard all year for it, and it’s great to bring everybody together in the First Nation firefighting world.”

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Teams arrived in P.A. on Friday, and the competition itself was held in the front parking lot of Carlton High School on Saturday, capped off with a banquet and awards later that night. Scores were being kept during each of the evolutions that featured tasks like rolling the hose and equipping the nozzle, to making sure they can take their personal protective equipment (PPE) on and off effectively and efficiently.

“The competitors come through, and they do three evolutions, and they are critiqued on everything that they do during each evolution.”

In total, seven fire departments were competing this weekend, travelling from all over the province, with some even sending multiple teams. Competitors included two teams from Fond Du Lac and Hall Lake, and one from Black Lake, while fire departments from Muskoday and Buckland were on hand to help with judging and logistics.

Vandevord said that this weekend also saw the debut of Cumberland House Cree Nation and Little Red River Reserve at the competition, while other teams were forced to back out due to being short on team members.

“We did have a few more teams who were coming and unfortunately, some [teams] weren’t able to compete [since] they didn’t have enough people. You need six people to run an evolution.”

Claiming top spot at the competition was Black Lake, followed by Fond du Lac in second and Cumberland House in third, while Little Red River was awarded the Most Sportsmanlike team.

Black Lake is now one of a few Saskatchewan teams heading to Calgary for the 36th annual National Firefighting Competition set for Oct. 21-24.

More information about that event can be found by clicking here.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social