At the 56th annual convention of the Association des gestionnaires en sécurité incendie et civile du Québec, the Service de sécurité incendie de Pincourt/Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot was honored. During the event, held from June 1 to 4, the manager and assistant manager of this 82-strong brigade, Yanick Bernier and Stéphane Séguin, received medals for distinguished service. 

These were in recognition of their 30 years and 20 years respectively of service to their community as firefighters. 

"In my case, I've been with the Pincourt/Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot Fire Department for exactly 32 years. I've been director since 2011, and before that I was assistant director when my father Michel Bernier was director. For his part, my colleague Stéphane Séguin has reached the milestone of 20 years' service. He joined the Assomption brigade in 2004 at the age of 34. Since 2011, he has held the position of assistant manager on our team. He's the one who succeeded me," sums up Mr. Bernier at the outset.  

Appreciated recognition of the passage of time 

Each year, the ACSIQ takes advantage of its annual convention to recognize the distinguished service of fire managers in the province who have accumulated 20, 30, 40 and 50 years of service. The pair knew they would be honoured on this occasion. 

"It's a very formal event, where you have to put on your full uniform and helmet, and walk in rows one behind the other. It's a nice mark of recognition, even if it makes you realize that time flies (laughs). It means a lot to me because I was practically born at the barracks. My father worked here for fifty years. As a child, I used to come here to play. I have clear memories of myself as a child, sitting in the back of the fire truck while my father and his colleagues put out a fire in the 1980s. I must have been about eight or nine years old. Today, I'm 52 and my son, Laurent, will be joining our brigade in a few weeks' time. He'll be the third generation to be a member. It makes me proud," he confides, emotionally at the thought. 

What advice does he have for his offspring, who will be joining the brigade in July? "I would say to be available for the citizens. My work continues when I leave the fire station. People who meet me at the grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store or restaurant tell me about their various problems, even if I can't solve them or it's out of my hands. I still try to help them by getting the message through the municipal system to the right person. Whether it's here or in Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, we always try to involve all our firefighters in municipal activities so that they are seen and recognized by the citizens. We want the Fire Department to maintain its image and integrity."

Even though he will be joining the brigade in a few weeks' time, Laurent Bernier has no intention of taking over the Fire Department when his father retires in at least eight years' time. According to Yanick Bernier, he wants to pursue a career in aviation as an airplane pilot, a course of study he has already begun. 

A spirit of family and camaraderie 

For Mr. Bernier, his brigade is more than a work team, it's a family. "We work, sleep, eat and do all the tasks, like cleaning the trucks, with our colleagues. Our brigade has 80 firefighters and first responders and two assistants, for a total of 82 members. Since my arrival, we've practically doubled our workforce, whether in terms of human resources, fire stations or vehicle fleets. We're fortunate in that we have excellent support from the municipal councils of Pincourt and Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, who believe in us and support us on a daily basis. For our part, we make sure we deliver the goods," adds the man who has no plans to step down from the management of SI before at least its 60th anniversary, scheduled for 2032.  

A proud achievement

For his part, Stéphane Séguin says he is very proud to have received a medal for his 20-year career. "It's a wonderful recognition of a firefighter's exemplary career and years of commitment to the community. You have to have a faultless record and flawless behavior to receive this honor. For my part, I became a firefighter at the age of 34 in 2000, at a time when the fire service was undergoing a major reform," recounts the man who will hang up his uniform for good in 2026. 

At the time, he was working in the fire alarm and sprinkler sector. At the same time, he began taking university courses in fire prevention. This certification enabled him to reorient his career as a part-time fire prevention officer with the Assomption brigade. 

In November 2005, a full-time preventionist position opened up in Pincourt, an opportunity he decided to seize. For six months, he worked day shifts for the brigade headed by Michel Bernier, before returning to his home in l'Assomption at the end of the day. In July 2006, he moved a few steps away from the fire station. Until 2011, he was firefighter and fire prevention chief, before applying for the position of assistant manager to support Yanick Bernier in his duties. 

What is he most proud of since joining SI? "Our progress. We have two beautiful fire stations and we offer a great service to our population. When I arrived, the firefighters were mainly focused on extinguishing fires and extricating people from accidents. Today, we have specialized teams for rescue at height, in confined spaces, in water and so on. We're very versatile. The prevention department now has three employees, whereas I was the only one when I started. We also have a great working atmosphere."

What does his day-to-day work involve? Mr. Séguin is in charge of managing the department with Mr. Bernier, intervention reports, payroll, annual report writing, communications with the government, the whole civil protection aspect as assistant coordinator, and training. On rare occasions, he dons his uniform to go into the field. Most of the time, he's the one who ensures the deployment of the resources required for an intervention, such as Hydro-Québec, CETAM or other regional fire departments. 

Under the leadership of Messrs Bernier and Séguin, the Pincourt/NDIP Fire Department has acquired more skills and now offers specialized services throughout the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC, has doubled the territory served and is established in two fire stations. 

Every year, the IS responds to 400 fire calls and 1,200 first responder calls, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since 1992, a first responder service has been deployed on municipal territory. In 2008, it was annexed to the Pincourt IS, which became one of the first to deploy it in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC. 

As the SI celebrates its 75th anniversary, Mr. Bernier promises that great things are in store for his brigade. Clearly, the time has not yet come to retire for this fire manager, who is much appreciated in his community and in the MRC. 

At the last meeting of the Pincourt municipal council, Pincourt mayor Claude Comeau highlighted the medals won by the duo. "The municipal council and the mayor of Pincourt congratulate Mr. Bernier and Mr. Séguin on their years of service," he wrote in an e-mail. 

For her part, Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot mayor Danie Deschênes also had good words for the pair. "Our two towns will be happy to mark these important anniversaries for our fire managers," she concludes.