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J FrtTCli'rS" ., .,A T My) 'ee " Sther Jomed the Kltchener . c5L" I, iit v: department m 1954, but despite his , P. 'a love for bus Job, It was eight years lip, " . " before he became an oirteer, He wrote c. “.5 hm exams and “was 1n the right place at the nght time" when an openmg “a: 'e'ftociapptt,: platoon chief, and Waterloo's Fire cw John sun: It may to hang up his hoses after 37 you: then m 1968 at the age of 38, he was ttet "Blob. appomted Chief of the Waterloo department, the youngest chief of a full-time I “The combination of the fan and tlu department In Ontario. firo ml... on rennin... "o, -.'- .L...._I. And he certainly didn't have to worry about being cold anymore. Sumner remembers one house rtre where temperatures reached as high as 1,500 degrees, "We knew ll was going to be hot in there, but when we pushed open the door a crack. all the windows in the upstalrs exploded. We only went in partially and then, only for a few moments but when we came out again we were shivering with cold even though it was August and 80 degrees Outside. that's how hot It was in there " "We used to wear black coats and helmets. and sometimes, you'd be in I basement that wu pitch black and full of smoke and you couldn't use the people beside you. You Always felt like you were alone, that you were in than by yourself, and that's not a good feeling." "lt caused quite a stir. Whenever I went to gatherings of fire chiefs or fire rtghters, people would actually point at me and say that’s him, not the old guy, the young guy beside him." But being young didn't hamper him. says Staller. In fact, it helped make him a better chief. “Because I was young, I was able to grow with the department. As it grew and changed. so did I, and the department also grew with me. The average age of the department was 32, so we all grew together. I think that helped me work with people rather than having people work for me." (.hte?t.th.efimtthingB5tallerdidueiiietmuehangetheaartstire Mtter's helmets. It sounds simple, but it was a change Staller says helped make fire f)gttting "fer, "Right from the start, it was a Job I Inked coming to everyday. We worked long hours and were underpaid, but there was always a sense of camaradene. and while other things have changed, that's been there for all 37 of those years." So, when a friend told him the Kitchener rare department was looking for for tradeapeople, Staller applied. It E -, .5 7 '_.. wasn't until later that he found out the al, g. f i ' ' " v department was actually looking for _,l8lllE'illgl electricians, not tinsmiths. > - j 'E2EEf That was 37 years ago and Staller, now Chief of Waterloo's Fire Department, 13 now ready to hang up his hoses. His 22-year sum as chief omeally ends this June, closing the doors on a long and suweesful career throughout which he has seen. and mmated, many important changes in fire fighting. Koren Adttee%r Chromcle Staff John Staller didn't have any lifelong ambition to become a rtre r1ghter. it murrt't a boyhood dream, something he always wanted to do. In fact, Staller's career choice was determined by a much simpler motivation. He was tired of being cold. “I was a journeyman tinamith by trade, but I wasn't happy. I was always cold and alone because I spent a lot of time in cold. damp basements installing central heating and I always seemed to be sick.“ HANGIN’ UP irllll)) HOS-ES CtMMRmS'CAWiAu.0CCAMoriGWrmtAPPmGjMP-tNas ovmums-Pmmmm-m . John Staller retires after 22 years of leading WaterloO's firefighting 'tearn' WATERLOO LOCATIONS: SHOPPERS DRUG MABT® '""i"grlP"' I "gilgP' I '"'d'l'll Everything You Wantls.A_D.rggStore 884-1500 3393530 886-61 While StalUr says he'll has the ikimiGfii i"il'ui'gJir"ii"iii. department. retirement will give him more time for his family, something he an In’l looking forward to. "My family in all skiers, so I imagine I'll be doing more of that. I ah like to play grrlfand we have a cottage and my wife is very active in union“! Activities and lhn sure she'll get me involved. I won't be bond, that'- for nun " f,'h" i " '" " Staller's concern with safety also led , u MR to the use of innovative fire fighting $3 I? _ cr ' ' techniques, and once again, Waterloo " ‘-, became the first department to try them out. One of thee is Positive Preelsure Ventilation, a tter, that invo ves lacin a hi - wen-ed an in ttt hang up hh m after 37 ya" the door Sf a hguse Sh',',',':')',!,',] the upper windows. . "The combination of the fan and the steam generated by the water on the fire helps to circulate the air through the house and out the upper windows. We now have fewer problems with visibility and we don't have to puts hole in the roof." But, despite an impressive record as an innovative chief, Stellar mm't take the wt for his achievements. He prefers to think of himself an hurt nf a V . r .___V- "n... - u. umvvnu'v Hum, gunner won b Elle the edit for his achievements. He prefers to think of himself a part of a team. "A chief is only as good or as bad as the department beam it'l not the type trjthymteandoby yourself. 1'e,itr.tttf.toiigreruam,witiGlifGGrtGiGr a situation and everyone else adds their's and that creates the bigger picture.- You 1m Gifts problems if you try to do everything by yourself." m; - - - -_..- L_In __,-,, Lr " . . . -- they’re doing them right. You don't find ou't yauire doing Ming 63:“ until you make a mistake, and that's something you can't afford to do in is Waterloo'a tim fighters became one of the first departments in Canada to sun waringycllov helmets, In initiative that otherdeplrunontuoonoopied. Aaprmidentdthedsief'saasoeutioninthttario,tui1erauoinitiaud 'important-rt-trut/ht-airing-r-mal-hit-p-rn toende)uistddeputrehp3tishsaektothiamr. “Therel's _rtallrPootto,y1e!iiend.dntutrthiehowtoAr.tyinr andif Safety is the most important concern for any [W,', flr:1ia says Stellar, but 24%Nr, for the Mth who must worry about his men, anyone in the MEIM and the consequences for the city and the property owner. "r,' been fortunate in that I’ve always been able to convince Waterloo’s council that safety comes [it'rlf', and funding for the necessary equipment has alwsys been there for - OPENSUNJ1-6 . "tggt.ttfP" FREE DELIVERY ON “summons FOR SHIORS a was oven autdid “In 1960 there were 700 known hazardous materials we might come in contact with. Now there’s 60,000, and this system not only tells us what those are and what they can do, but it also tells us what we should use to fight a Ftre involving chemicals and the dangers they pose so we know whether we should evacuate the area." And the knowledge the system provides is also helping Waterloo', fire fighters avoid dangerous misukea that have killed some of their colleagues in the past. Smaller credits in pilot program initiated by Tom Stoekie, the city’s treasurer. for ensuring the necessary funds are available when the tim department needs to replace eqy'pgtent, _ Stiller also credits the budget system for providing the funding for a computerized system the department uses that contains over 60,000 known hazardous materials. 885-6130