A pair of senior members of the Swift Current Fire Department were recognized yesterday in Regina for a quarter century of exemplary emergency service.

Fire Chief Darren McClelland and Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Hunter both received the 25-year Saskatchewan Protective Services Medal from Lieutenant Governor Thomas Molloy.

McClelland enjoyed having Hunter up there along with him.

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"Ryan and I got to go together," he said. "It's nice to be with one of your peers, and also the people from the rest of southern Saskatchewan that were there. It was a good event and good for everybody to get together."

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"I appreciated it very much," Hunter said. "It's a job that I love, and I've managed to stay in it for a long period of time - and I'm still in it - but it's good to be recognized, I very much appreciated it."

Talking about changes to the job over the last 25 years, Hunter noted advancements in procedure and technology.

"Over the last 25 years I've seen a lot of changes. When I first started they were just starting to be mandatory that we wear our breathing apparatuses into a fire, and that's been a huge help for health and safety. And then about 10 years after that, they started really introducing the foams to help reduce the fire damage and help extinguish fires. So they're always inventing or discovering new ways to either make firefighting more effective, more efficient, or safer."

McClelland agreed that things are definitely different now than in the early 1990s.

"Our level of service and our scope of practice has definitely changed in the last 20 to 25 years. When most of us got on, rope rescue and high angle and swift water rescue, and all the different training requirements that we do today, weren't here. One of the big ones that we've been able to maintain is the PCP certification that we have for medical response, and we're one of the only departments in Saskatchewan that can say we're meeting that level with all staff members. It's good to see the commitment from our guys and from the City in order to meet that."

Both coworkers added that even though they've been in the field of work for so long, they still enjoy going to work.

"We love our jobs and I really like what I'm doing, and it just keeps you coming back and I like the people that I work with and the service that we provide to the city," said McClelland.

For Hunter, a lot of the joy he finds in his work are about the new challenges each shift brings.

"No two days are the same, so there is no monotony. Every single call - even though they may be accidents, or they may be fire calls - none of them are the same. So it's a really good job to keep you fresh everyday. I really enjoy that."