BONNYVILLE – One of the pillars of the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA), Irene Welecki, has retired after 28 years of service.
Dan Heney, the BRFA’s deputy fire chief, said it will be difficult to replace Welecki’s and more than two decades of experience she has. “That’s over 20 years of... knowledge walking out the door,” he said, shortly after her retirement was made public.
Heney said Welecki had been a constant for the BRFA dating back to when the BRFA was first formed.
According to Heney, the BRFA was formed in 1996 as a joint agency for the M.D. of Bonnyville and the Town of Bonnyville. And for a long time, Welecki and the BRFA’s former fire chief and current Town of Bonnyville Coun. Brian McEvoy, were the only full-time staff members of the BRFA’s office.
Welecki served as the BRFA’s secretary for McEvoy. Since then, she served three fire chiefs in total. McEvoy being the first, then Jay Melvin from 2018 to 2021, and now Heney.
“She also started volunteering as a firefighter. So, she volunteered as a firefighter for 20 years of those 28 years,” explained Heney. “Her position evolved over time. She was the secretary to the chief, and then eventually that position evolved into the office manager position that exists today.”
For a long time, Welecki and McEvoy managed over 100 volunteer firefighters until the BRFA added a deputy chief position, according to Heney. This includes managing the 911 dispatch services that were added in 2005.
“They didn’t even hire a fourth staff member until 2012,” recalled Heney, which was around the time Bonnyville’s Emergency Medical Services was integrated into the BRFA as well.
Slowly over time, the BRFA expanded. “But for a long period of time, it was just Irene [Welecki] and Brian [McEvoy]... they built [BRFA] from the ground up,” and to what it looks like today, Heney said.
Currently, the BRFA has six full-time staff, five part-time, four casuals, and around 160 volunteers, according to the BRFA website. It includes fire stations in Goodridge, Glendon, Iron River, Fort Kent, Ardmore, and a season station at Crane Lake.
“I don’t want to overshadow Irene [Welecki]... [but] the fact that she felt comfortable staying here for over 20 years speaks to the stability of this organization,” said Heney. “I mean, if you’re not happy, how do you stay somewhere for 28 years?”
Welecki, alongside Heney, McEvoy, and Colin Atkinson, were also awarded the Queen's Platinum Jubilee medal in 2022 for their outstanding contributions to the province.
Heney hopes that it is apparent to Welecki how much the BRFA has valued her and her contributions.
“She has more than earned her retirement... she was a glue that held this organization together. A constant for 28 years.”
