8 Monday, February 27, 2017
Edmonton
Fort Mac fire chief retiring achievement
Darby Allen has no regrets in handling of the wildfire The fire chief who offered regular updates to Canadians during last May’s enormous wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., has officially retired. Darby Allen celebrated his retirement by having cake with colleagues on Thursday. Allen says he and his wife are moving to Vancouver to enjoy the ocean and milder winters, and he plans to spend some time on the speech circuit. Mayor Melissa Blake says Allen will be missed, adding that he was not just a heroic firefighter but also a soccer coach and philanthropist in the community. Allen says his priorities during the 80,000-person evacuation
last May were to “save lives, save lives, save lives” and says the first responders in the area did just that. Some 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed by the blaze. “When first light came on the fourth (of May), I was worried we might see lots of vehicles still on the road burning with people,” Allen says. While it could have been far worse, Allen admits the fire left him emotionally scarred. “I’ve gone to speak to professionals about how I’m feeling,” Allen says. “We did well, but as a firefighter we still feel guilty about what was lost.” Allen became the national face of the disaster with his regu-
lar social media updates on the wildfire, which he dubbed “the beast” for its ferocity and unpredictability. In voting for The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year in 2016, Darby tied for third with four-time Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak. The pair came behind the winner, Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in second. Allen says he’s not sure he will feel ready to return to Fort McMurray for the one-year anniversary of the fire in May. At the same time, he says he’s pleased with what he achieved during his career. “I have no regrets.” THE CANADIAN PRESS
I’ve gone to speak to professionals about how I’m feeling. We did well, but as a firefighter we still feel guilty about what was lost. Darby Allen
Premier Rachel Notley and Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee honour the achievement of Fort McMurray fire chief Darby Allen, who became the face of the firefighting efforts to save Fort McMurray from wildfires last spring. Allen has now retired. the canadian press
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On Monday Edmonton Public Library kicks off Freedom to Read, an annual celebration of intellectual freedom that library associate manager Kate Gibson says is a little more relevant this year. “(Intellectual freedom) is something that’s a general responsibly and right, but this year more than others, I’m realizing we can’t take it for granted,” she said. Every year the event encourages access to information by encouraging Edmontonians to read whatever they want, including books that people have tried to get banned here, or in other parts of Canada. This year they’ve already partnered with local amateur storytelling event Story Slam on an evening on true stories. On Tuesday they are hosting an event with Chief Wilton Littlechild, among others, about the information brought to light during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Gibson said the library takes its job of providing legitimate information seriously. “We support getting reli-
able information and make sure people know how to find reliable sources. Sources that have been peer reviewed or have been backed up or come from legitimate sources. Libraries play a definite role in helping people find that,” she said. “Libraries are unbiased and non-judgemental, but we’re not neutral. Gibson said libraries could have a more important role to play, in a current climate that sees facts coming under question. In January Kellyanne Conway, advisor to President Donald Trump, famously coined the phrase “alternative facts,” a phrase critics say has been used to obscure the truth. “I see, and I’m sure libraries across the world see, freedom to read, intellectual freedom, as essential to democracy,” she said. “But people are taking democracy seriously all of a sudden, and realizing they do have the right to demand that their governments listen to them. “That is optimistic and its unfortunate that its taken this to get to that point, but I think in many ways, its forced us to realize what we could lose.”