Plus: Council endorses recommendation to hire 10 new firefighters to supplement exhausted brigade

Freson Bros. have cooked up a mountain of support for the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Back in late July, just one day after JVFB members, together with other structural firefighters from neighbouring departments, saved 70 per cent of the community from the biggest wildfire in Jasper National Park’s recorded history, the Hinton Hill Freson Bros. threw an impromptu BBQ and quickly brought in $1,600.

“Come along as we stand together as a community during this challenging time,” the company posted on July 25.

From those first, generous impressions, the grocery family knew if they really got organized, they could raise much more money for the firefighters who helped ensure the town’s evacuated residents would have somewhere to come home to. 

So they got organized. The fundraiser went company-wide. Soon, from Hinton to Hanna, from Fort Saskatchewan to Fairview, all 17 Freson Bros. locations were kicking in for the cause. From August 2 to 15, the Alberta-grown grocery chain matched customer donations to the JVFB. Customers, for their part, were responding with their hearts—and their wallets.

“We are deeply moved by the generosity of our customers and the strong sense of community that this campaign has inspired,” said Paul Lovsin, Freson Bros. Hinton Hill Store Manager. 

On August 26, Freson Bros. representatives presented the total tally to a decked-out crew of JVFB members—eight of whom lost their homes in the July 24 blaze. When Freson Bros. cut the giant novelty cheque, it had six digits between the dollar sign and the decimal. Of the  $149,275.00 raised, $99,275 came from customer donations; Freson Bros. donated an additional $50,000. 

The money will be used for equipment upgrades, volunteer training and other critical needs that enable the Brigade to continue its vital services. JVFB chairperson, Tris Tomkins, said the brigade will continue to prioritize the mental and physical wellbeing of JVFB members and provide additional support to those of use who lost their homes and businesses. 

“We will also set aside a portion of the funds for inviting other structural firefighters who aided us over the last several weeks to our annual Christmas Gala,” Tomkins said. 

Freson Bros. was started in Hinton—Cadomin, if you really want to get specific—by a Croatian immigrant who lost his mining job and saw a demand for butcher services in the area. In 1955 Frank Lovsin opened the first Freson Bros. in Hinton, with partners Frank and Leo Resek. They expanded to Peace River in 1962, then to Fairview in ‘64, then to High Prairie in 1966. This year, they opened their 17th store, in Edmonton-Glenora.

“The origins of Freson is a fantastic story,” Tompkins relayed.

And now they’re helping Jasper start over. 

Jasper to hire 10 new firefighters, 1 captain

Two days before Freson Bros.’ $150 K donation was announced, Jasper Municipal Council agreed with a recommendation to add 10 new contract positions to the Jasper fire brigade for a six-month term (to be extended as needed). The positions will help spell off an exhausted brigade—members of which now need to get back to their own lives, post-incident. After being called on for an extended period of time during the month-long crisis, members will need to focus on recuperating, reassessing and rebuilding, said Director of Protective Services, Christine Nadon.  

“As you can imagine, our volunteer firefighting staffing complement and paid full time firefighters as well have been very affected by this incident,” Nadon said. “Until we get our community back on its feet, and have our volunteers in town…we’re not in a position to maintain our level of service ourselves.”

Ninety percent of the funding for the personnel request—and possibly more—will come from Disaster Recovery Program funding supplied by the province and the feds, Nadon told council on August 27. 

And 100 percent of the Freson Bros. fundraiser will go to the JVFB. 

“We would like to thank all our communities for helping us support the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade,” Lovsin said. “Their bravery and commitment in serving and protecting their community during this wildfire season is truly inspiring, and we are honoured to be able to make this contribution.”

At Tuesday’s council meeting, speaking in favour of the motion to add the 10 positions to the brigade (which, if passed by council, will also include the hiring of a new captain for a two year term), Mayor Richard Ireland agreed with those sentiments.

“It’s fair to say that the 70 percent of our properties which remain, do so because of the valour and bravery of the fire department that has been decimated,” Ireland said. “This is the only way we can move forward. We cannot have residents and visitors come back to town without a functioning fire department.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com