News and Upcoming Events

Summer 2011

During the past 5 or 6 years, East Beaches Fire & Rescue has rescued some 35 persons during marine emergencies. Unfortunately, some calls for assistance had to be passed on to neighbouring emergency services because of safety considerations arising from the small size of the rescue craft currently in the department's inventory. Thankfully, no loss of life occurred due to the unavoidable delays involved in waiting for the arrival of emergency services from outside our response area.

The Rural Municipalities of Alexander and St. Clements recently approved the purchase of a new water rescue boat for the fire department that will be much more powerful and seaworthy, enabling us to respond more quickly and safely to a wider range of marine emergencies.

The new rescue boat is currently being custom built for East Beaches Fire & Rescue by Polaris Inflatable Boats (Canada) Ltd. of Langley, B.C. The boat is 5 metres (16' - 6") long, will have a carrying capacity of 9 persons, and will be powered by a 60 h.p. outboard engine. Delivery is expected in the next several weeks, and the new boat will be in service later this summer!*

The focus of our fund-raising efforts at this years' annual open house will be to raise money that will go towards the purchase of additional equipment for the new rescue boat that will enhance the effectiveness of water rescues provided to area residents, visitors, and commercial fishers!

* Due to unavoidable delays at the manufacturer, the new rescue boat will not see service until the 2012 boating season.

9 July 2011

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported our Annual Open House once again!

We thank the Southeast Regional Métis Corporation and an anonymous individual for their generous cash donations. 

We also thank the following local and regional companies for their donated prizes for the fundraising events...

The following firefighters and community members donated prizes for our Silent Auction...

Marc Bruyere	Trevor Dackow	Gary Drall
Bernie Froehlich	Leona and Dwayne Knott	Harvey and Betty Lacroix
Ken McKay	Art and Val Recksiedler	Blair Sheane
Sonia Sheane	Mark Sieradzki	Zach Sieradzki
Dustin Sinclair	Florence Sinclair	Kyle Sinclair
Mark and Dulcie Sinclair	Debbie Thomas	Ted and Irene Thomas
Tom Thomas	Wayne Thomas	Ed Wach
Randall Wiese		Darren Zaretski

29 January 2011

Congratulations to Lieutenant Mark Sieradzki (on left) and Captain Gary Drall (on right) who received their 10-Year Service Awards at the St. Clements Staff and Volunteer Appreciation Evening held at the South Beach Casino complex. In Fire Chief Mark Sinclair's absence, the awards were presented by East Beaches Fire & Rescue's longest serving member, Blair Sheane (in centre).

10 July 2010

We thank everyone who came out and supported our Annual Open House! We especially thank everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy Canada. We will be sending in a donation of $104.08! A donation of $50.00 will also be going to the Firefighters Burn Fund.

Thanks also to Jim Stinson, Emergency Measures Coordinator for the R.M. of St. Clements, and Don Currie from the province's Emergency Operations Centre, who were on hand to help raise awareness of potential hazardous events and how people can prepare and protect themselves and their families. You can find more information about emergency planning on this website's Emergency Management page, and there is an article about "Emergency Preparedness" on this website's Fire and Life Safety Topics page.

Congratulations to Blair Sheane who received his Long Service Medal and Certificate recognizing 25 years' service with the Grand Marais Fire Department and East Beaches Fire & Rescue. In point of fact, Blair now has closer to 28 years with the fire department!

The fire department thanks the Southeast Regional Métis Corporation and the Manitoba Métis Federation - Grand Marais & District Local for their cash donations. 

We also thank the North Red Community Futures Development Corporation for their kind donation of fabric bags, pens and tourism brochures that were provided to visitors free of charge. A link to their website may be found on our Links page.

We thank the following companies and groups for their donated prizes for the fundraising events...

ABC Fire & Safety Equipment	Cheryl Carver's Place	Doris' Grocery Store
Equinox Fire & Rescue	Fort Garry Fire Trucks	Grand Marais Family Festival
Grand Marais Recreation Association	Grand Marais Seniors Association	Grand Marais Village Store
Keewatin Trucks	Kerry's Cottage Lifting & Leveling	L.J. Peters
Mack Trucks Manitoba Ltd.	Margie's Greenhouse	North Star Hill Climbers Snowmobile Club
Northeast Trees	Red River Messenger - Selkirk	Reliant Auction Ltd.
Schneider's Septic Service	Sherwood Groceries - Gull Lake	Station House Restaurant
T-Beach	Thunder Mountain Waterslides	Tropical Trends
XTR Gas Bar		Wimpy's Corner

We also thank the following community members and firefighters for their donated prizes...

Marc Bruyere	Trevor Dackow	Gary Drall
Kyle Fey	Bernie Froehlich	Gary and Bonnie Grace
Leona and Dwayne Knott	Harvey and Betty Lacroix	Ken McKay
Art and Val Recksiedler	Todd Recksiedler and Family	Blair and Sonia Sheane
Mark Sieradzki	Dustin Sinclair	Florence Sinclair
Kyle Sinclair	Mark and Dulcie Sinclair	Ted and Irene Thomas
Tom Thomas	Wayne Thomas	Ed Wach
Randall Wiese		Darren Zaretski

And last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank the members of our 2010 Open House Committee: Ken McKay (Chair), Todd Recksiedler, Blair Sheane, Mark Sieradzki, and Darren Zaretski.

10 February 2010

Congratulations to Kyle Sinclair who passed the Firefighter Level 1 Written Examination in Winnipeg today.

12 December 2009

East Beaches firefighter Todd Recksiedler's five years of dedicated service were recognized at the St. Clements Christmas party. Captain Tom Thomas was also honoured for five years of dedicated service, although he was unable to attend the event.

12 November 2009

Congratulations to Trevor Dackow and Randall Wiese who passed the Firefighter Level 1 Written Examination in Selkirk today.

11 July 2009

East Beaches Fire & Rescue held its Annual Open House on July 11th. We thank everyone who came out and supported the event!

The fire department thanks the Southeast Regional Métis Corporation and the Manitoba Métis Federation - Grand Marais Local for their cash donations. 

We also thank Bill Wilde, president of the Halcyon Cove Property Owners Association, for his assistance in getting the word out about our open house to other cottage associations in the area via e-mail.

We thank the following companies and groups for their donated prizes for the fundraising events...

We also thank the following community members and firefighters for their donated prizes...

Marc Bruyere	Bill Chester	Trevor Dackow
Gary Drall	Bernie Froehlich	Leona and Dwayne Knott
Harvey and Betty Lacroix	Ken McKay	Martin and Emily Rach
Art and Val Recksiedler	Todd Recksiedler and Family	Blair and Sonia Sheane
Mark Sieradzki	Zach Sieradzki	Dustin Sinclair
Florence Sinclair	Kyle Sinclair	Mark and Dulcie Sinclair
Ted and Irene Thomas	Wayne Thomas	Ed Wach
Randall Wiese		Darren Zaretski

27 June 2009

Congratulations to Marc Bruyere, Trevor Dackow, and Kyle Sinclair, who successfully completed the Firefighter Level 1 Practical Evaluation in Brandon today!

18 June 2009

East Beaches Fire & Rescue gratefully acknowledges the thoughtful donation of Gatorade drinks and coffee to the Fire Department by Rick and Meredith Delannoy in appreciation for the protection of property during a recent brush/grass fire in their area.

30 May 2009

Congratulations to Randall Wiese, who successfully completed the Firefighter Level 1 Practical Evaluation in Stonewall today!

Randall Wiese

12 May 2009

It has come to our attention somewhat belatedly that other groups and associations contributed to past fundraising efforts to purchase a thermal imaging camera for East Beaches Fire & Rescue. We are now aware that the Halcyon Cove Property Owners Association and the Island Beach Property Owners Association made donations towards the camera, and perhaps other associations did as well. Regrettably, the fire department was not advised at the time, and we would like to acknowledge their donations and express our gratitude.

Christmas 2008

Christmas arrived a little early this year for East Beaches Fire & Rescue!

On December 19th, Fire Chief Mark Sinclair picked up the department's new pumper from the Fort Garry Fire Trucks factory in Winnipeg.

Our new apparatus is based on a Sterling Acterra chassis and powered by a 330 h.p. Cummins diesel engine. It features a midship mounted Waterous CSYCX pump capable of discharging 1050 imperial gallons per minute at 150 p.s.i. The unit can carry 900 imperial gallons of water as well as 20 gallons of fire suppressant foam concentrate.

Our thanks to the Municipal Councils of St. Clements and Alexander for purchasing this much needed addition to the department's fleet. Thanks also to South Beach Casino & Resort for a generous donation through their Community Spirit Fund that enabled East Beaches to fully equip the new pumper!

13 December 2008

Two members of East Beaches Fire & Rescue were honoured for their years of service at the St. Clements Christmas Social Evening held this year at the South Beach Casino & Resort in Scanterbury. Harvey Lacroix was recognized for his 20 years with the fire department, and Secretary-Treasurer Ken McKay has been with the department for 10 years.

Three members of the Narol Fire Department were also honoured for their years of service, as were a couple of Public Works employees, including Don Froehlich with 25 years' service. Colleen Sailor of the municipal office staff was also recognized for her 15 years of service.

19 October 2008

East Beaches Firefighters practised Vehicle Extrication techniques on a 1994 Dodge Caravan donated by EBFR Firefighter Ken McKay.

Photos by EBFR Firefighter Gary Drall.

30 August 2008

Our thanks to all who participated and to all who came out to watch the 2008 Grand Marais Fire Truck Pull! Special thanks go out to Jerry Meagher and the Grand Marais Property Owners' Association for organizing the event! Thanks also to Fort Garry Fire Trucks Ltd. for the use of a brand new fire truck for the day! $3800 was raised towards the purchase of a Thermal Imaging Camera for East Beaches Fire & Rescue. Congratulations to this year's winning team - the Highland Tugboats!

East Beaches Fire Truck Pull Team - 2008 (On Ground from Left) EBFR Firefighter Mark Sieradzki, EBFR Firefighter Todd Recksiedler, former Grand Marais Firefighter Paul Lafrance, EBFR Trainee Kyle Sinclair, EBFR Trainee Marc Bruyere, EBFR Firefighter Kyle Fey, EBFR Firefighter Darren Zaretski, EBFR Lieutenant Tom Thomas, EBFR Firefighter Dustin Sinclair, and friend of the Fire Dept. Tanner Hourie; (At the Wheel) EBFR Deputy Fire Chief Art Recksiedler.         Photo by EBFR Captain Blair Sheane.

12 July 2008

East Beaches Fire & Rescue held its Annual Open House on Saturday, July 12th. Despite the inclement weather, many area residents and visitors came out to see the fire station and take part in the event! We thank everyone who helped out, and we thank everyone who attended and supported their fire department!

We would like to thank the following companies and groups for their donated prizes for the fundraising events...

We also thank the following community members and firefighters for their donated prizes...

23 May 2008

At a news conference this afternoon, municipal officials from Alexander and St. Clements, along with officials from the Northeast Health Authority, announced that beginning today an ambulance crew will be stationed at the East Beaches Fire Station through the summer until the September long weekend. After the summer, officials will look at the demand for ambulance service in the area and decide whether to station an ambulance here on a year-round basis. 

1 May 2008

Our congratulations to Lieutenant Tom Thomas who recently passed the Emergency Services Instructor Level 1 course. Tom will begin training several new recruits in the near future. We wish them all well!

8 December 2007

Several members of East Beaches Fire & Rescue were honoured for their years of service with the fire department at the St. Clements Christmas Social Evening held this year at the Grand Marais Recreation Centre.

(From Left) Fire Chief Mark Sinclair; Lieutenant Edward Wach; Captain Blair Sheane; Firefighter Henry Jonski; Deputy Fire Chief Arther Recksiedler.

Captain Blair Sheane received a plaque with clock recognizing his 25 years with the Grand Marais Fire Department and East Beaches. Fire Chief Mark Sinclair, Lieutenant Ed Wach, and Deputy Fire Chief Art Recksiedler received awards for 15 years' service, as did firefighters Wayne Thomas and Bernie Froehlich who were not able to attend. Firefighter Henry Jonski was recognized for having served with the fire department for 5 years. Regrettably, Henry announced recently that he will have to leave our fire service. His contributions will be missed, and East Beaches Fire & Rescue wishes him and his family all the best in the future.

Several members of the East Selkirk and Narol Fire Departments were also presented with awards for service, as were three Public Works employees.

1 December 2007

East Beaches Fire & Rescue held its annual Christmas party in the new Fire Station. The excellent dinner was prepared and served by West Beach Restaurant in Grand Marais. Several local members of the R.C.M.P. and the provincial park patrol also attended as guests. Following the dinner, Harvey Lacroix, on behalf of all East Beaches personnel, presented Fire Chief Mark Sinclair with a plaque thanking him for the tireless efforts he had made over several years to bring the Fire Station project to fruition.

(From Left) Firefighter Harvey Lacroix; Firefighter Kyle Fey; Fire Chief Mark Sinclair with Plaque.

11 August 2007

Official Grand Opening

Official Ribbon Cutting: (From Left) Terry Neplyk of the Grand Beach Cottage Association; St. Clements Councillor Jerry Drobot; St. Clements Councillor Rod Cameron; St. Clements Reeve Steve Strang; Alexander Councillor Ed Arnold; EBFR Fire Chief Mark Sinclair; Alexander Councillor Alvin Yosyk; Alexander Reeve George Harbottle; St. Clements Councillor Glen Basarowich; St. Clements Councillor Ray Frey; St. Clements Councillor Ed Gunning; and R.C.M.P Cst. Keith MacKenzie.

By all accounts, the official grand opening of the East Beaches Fire Station was a great success! Over 500 people turned up to check out the new facility. The crowd heard from Alexander Reeve George Harbottle and St. Clements Reeve Steve Strang, as well as from East Beaches Fire Chief Mark Sinclair. The common theme was the advantages of teamwork! Other speakers included Terry Neplyk of the Grand Beach Cottage Owners Association, St. Clements Manager of Administrative Services Colleen Sailor, and St. Clements Public Works Superintendent Bill Sinclair. Maryanne Marion Boulton spoke on behalf of South Beach Casino, which made a generous donation for the new station through its Community Spirit Fund. Representing the Office of the Fire Commissioner, Operations Manager for Eastern Manitoba Rick Vandekerkhove presented Fire Chief Mark Sinclair with a congratulatory plaque. Also on hand from the Office of the Fire Commissioner were Operations Manager for Western Manitoba Dave Shafer and Emergency Services Officer Dave Singleton. Former Grand Marais Fire Chief Ted Thomas also said a few words after receiving a certificate and long service medal recognizing his 25 years with the fire service.

Fire Chief Mark Sinclair receiving plaque from Rick Vandekerkhove.

Maryanne Marion Boulton of South Beach Casino.

Former Grand Marais Fire Chief Ted Thomas with certificate and long service medal presented by EBFR Fire Chief Mark Sinclair.

East Beaches Fire & Rescue gratefully acknowledges donations from the following major contributors...

Dufresne

Southeast Regional Métis Corporation

Office of the Fire Commissioner

South Beach Casino

We thank the volunteers from the Grand Beach and Area Business Development Corp. and the Grand Marais Family Festival for helping out and keeping the day's events running smoothly. We gratefully acknowledge the donation of an oak plaque bearing the names of firefighters who served with the Grand Marais Fire Department by Sun Craft Wood Products. Equinox Fire and Rescue donated several prints related to the fire service for the new station. Thanks also to Dan Polischuk for the use of his PA System for the day, and to Dave McCalder for the hot dog buns. The 'official photographer' for the day was Roger Batchelor of RWB Photography. We thank the Firefighters Burn Fund for the use of the Fire Safety Trailer, and the Southeast Regional Métis Corporation for providing the 'Jungle Bounce' attraction for the day!

East Beaches Fire & Rescue thanks the following groups for their donations for our fundraising events...

Grand Marais Family Festival

Manitoba Métis Federation - Grand Marais Local

Rural Municipality of St. Clements

We also thank the following companies for their donated prizes for the fundraising events...

And last, but certainly not least, we thank the following community members and firefighters for their donated prizes...

P.S. 

A special thanks to Sparky!

EBFR  Firefighter  Todd  Recksiedler  with  Sparky a.k.a. Shane Recksiedler

27 July 2007

Pelican Days in Grand Marais

Fire Chief Mark Sinclair and firefighters Kyle Fey, Todd Recksiedler, Mark Sieradzki, and Tom Thomas provided fire safety public education at the Pelican Days family carnival in Grand Marais. About 60 children learned what to do in the event of a house fire. Our thanks to the Firefighters Burn Fund for the use of their fire safety trailer!

EBFR Firefighters Mark Sieradzki, Tom Thomas and Kyle Fey with two future firefighters.

19 June 2007

Moving Day   ...   Finally!

After a few delays, East Beaches Fire & Rescue was finally able to move its trucks into the new Fire Station this evening. While some finishing touches to the station remain to be completed, construction work is largely finished.

East Beaches Fire & Rescue Station - 19 June 2007

31 May 2007

Congratulations to Firefighter Todd Recksiedler, who passed his Level 1 Fire Fighting Written Exam in Selkirk today.

28 April 2007

Congratulations to Firefighters Todd Recksiedler, Kyle Fey, Dustin Sinclair, and Darren Zaretski,

who passed their Level 1 Practical Evaluations in Stony Mountain today.

Our thanks to the training officers of the Victoria Beach Fire Department,

who provided most of the training.

Supplemental in-house training was provided by Tom Thomas and Mark Sieradzki.