The small town of Gillam in northeastern Manitoba is home to the longest-running firefighter rodeo in North America, and it features almost all IBEW members.

The 45th annual Nelson River Firefighters Rodeo took place in June, and just as in previous years, the vast majority of participants were card-carrying members of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Local 2034.

About 2,570 of Local 2034’s 2,615 members are employed by Manitoba Hydro. Members build, maintain and troubleshoot the electrical system from start to finish. This work brings electricity to homes and businesses across the province.

Additionally, Local 2034 represents employees of the towns of Gillam and Snow Lake, which are about 480 kilometers apart.

“It’s a truly unique environment,” said Local 2034 Vice President Kristi Arbuckle, who has participated in the rodeo in previous years.

Because of the location — Gillam is roughly 10 hours north of Winnipeg by car — it has emergency response firefighters on staff who are also workers in the stations.

“We’re so remote that it would take hours for any other emergency first responders to get to us if there was a situation,” Arbuckle said, noting that the crews are trained for water rescue, spill response, hazardous materials, and search and rescue, in addition to fires.

The rodeo trials include hose lay, search and rescue, bucket brigade, sprinklers, and a specific form of soccer.

“Picture a combination tetherball and reverse tug-of-war, but with fire hoses,” Chris Giles, a mechanical team lead at the Kettle Generating Station, said of the rodeo’s version of the beautiful game.

There are also surprise technical, physical and fun contests, which are closely guarded secrets until the day of the event. Additional recognition is given at the evening’s awards dinner for safety, the lowest number of penalties, the most sportsmanlike, and the hardest-working team. There’s even an award given to the team or participant who first manages to soak the fire marshal.

“It is a physically demanding day, but an incredibly fun one that strengthens your camaraderie with your fellow crew members,” Local 2034 President Ryan Stewart said.

Contestants come from all over the province, including those who aren’t Manitoba Hydro employees, like the Tataskweyak Cree Nation. There are usually about eight to 10 teams of four or five members each.

The family-friendly event starts in the morning with a pancake breakfast and concludes with the awards ceremony.

“It’s a very rewarding day where your nerves from the beginning have completely washed away and a sense of pride sets in,” said Stewart, who’s competed in the rodeo eight times.

The event is educational, fun and competitive, in that order, Giles said.

“I’ve learned more by competing over the years than by any of the formal training we’ve received,” said Giles, who first competed in 2009. “The events give you an opportunity to employ skills that would be theoretical otherwise.”

The rodeo has even been a recruiting opportunity.

“I’ve had people compete on my team with no training and who had never even put gear on before. But they did very well and ended up joining the crew shortly after,” said Giles, who’s also an emergency response crew instructor and rodeo co-organizer with Arbuckle.

Before being a hydroelectric power hub, Gillam was a railroad town as it’s a main stop between Thompson and Churchill, which are reached only by rail or plane.

Construction of Kettle, the first hydroelectric generating station, began in 1966. It was then that Manitoba Hydro began harnessing the power of the Lower Nelson River and over the years built three more generating stations: Long Spruce, Limestone and Keeyask. Combined, they produce over 4,200 megawatts of clean, renewable power, over 80% of the province’s capacity.

All of the stations are maintained and operated by Local 2034 members.

In addition to the rodeo providing a day’s worth of entertainment and camaraderie, it also serves as a fundraiser for the Firefighters Burn Fund, with the funds coming from sales of raffle tickets and clothing with the event’s logo, which changes every year. 

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