This Atlantic Canadian has been looking around the FFN site for some time, so this introduction is certainly overdue. I have lived in my neck of the woods in Northern Nova Scotia for the past nine years, after a ten year stint on an island in the mouth of the Moose River in Northern Ontario.
I run with two adjacent fire departments simultaneously. The call volume of my home department is relatively low, so I joined a neighboring department that runs a higher amount of runs for medical first response and highway calls, since the busy Trans Canada Highway #104 runs through the district. I get strange looks at times when I tell people I belong to two departments, but I have met others that do the same, some in a rural department and an industrial brigade at their workplace, so it isn't that uncommon.

Both my departments have their pro's and con's, but I get to work with great folks in both halls, learn as much as I can from both depts. and get to help people in my own area and a nearby district where I already know many residents. I'm a 3rd generation FF, following in my Dad and Grandfather's footsteps, not to mention uncles, cousins, great uncles, uncles of uncles and so on. My Dad is in his 45th year of service in my hometown of Pictou, NS, so I am proud to say I learned a lot of what I know from him (his Dept. has much snazzier full-dress uniforms than we do, though...).
December is usually a busy month down here, but it has been strangely quiet, so I expect that 2009 will likely make up for that. All the best to everyone for a safe, productive and fulfilling New Year, with a special thought for our troops serving in Afghanistan!