John Wiznuk

In 1990, seeking an escape from city life, John Wiznuk moved to Saturna Island in British Columbia’s Southern Gulf Islands. Two years later, a friend invited him to one of the regular practices of the volunteer fire department. What began as a volunteer, part-time hobby soon became his life, launching a twenty-year involvement with the Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department. He resigned as fire chief in 2012.

Most people’s understanding of what volunteer firefighters do extends no further than childhood notions of big red trucks with flashing lights and screaming sirens zooming somewhere to save the day. The reality is more complex. Firefighters never know what the next call will be, or what they will find when they reach the site. The challenges extend beyond the physical ones of extinguishing flames, rescuing individuals, and dealing with disaster. People in stressful situations are unpredictable. Even those being helped may lash out. And within the fire department itself, as there are wherever there are human beings, there are squabbles, politics, and personality conflicts. Yet through it all, volunteer firefighters persevere, thinking quickly, adapting, dealing with the inevitable problems, focusing on solutions—making it happen, somehow, someway.

In this heartfelt, fascinating, and deeply felt memoir, Wiznuk recounts the struggles and achievements, failures and successes, of his two decades as an emergency responder. It’s the story of one small rural volunteer fire service—but it’s also the universal story of similar services across Canada and around the world, wherever ordinary citizens voluntarily join forces to protect their homes and community…and in the process, become extraordinary.