Long-time Cochrane resident Guyle Colling returned this weekend after spending eight days assisting Jasper residents recover some cherished personal items from their destroyed homes.
Colling was one of about 50 on Team Rubicon's second wave of volunteers. Others came from Ontario, the Maritimes, New Zealand, and there were a few other Albertans.
There will be a third and fourth wave.
'This is probably the biggest operation I've been on, and we're running anywhere from 40 to 50 staff members," says Colling, a longtime member of Team Rubicon.
Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that also includes retired and serving police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers and tradespeople. It is built to serve global communities before, during and after disasters and crises. They play multiple roles including everything from incident command logistics, operational planning and site surveys to putting boots on the ground in strike teams of five.
It is completely voluntary and all they receive is a place to rest and food to eat until they complete their mission.
In Jasper, it was all about helping some Jasper families find closure.
"Our mission is to help people," says Colling. "There's a sense of satisfaction when you can see them laughing, even if they get a little vase or trinket or something. They want to hug you and kiss you, and stuff like that. We're just happy that they have some closure, and that's what we try to do. We never expect anything from anybody."
He says people were pleased with the results once they understood Team Rubicon was there to assist. After receiving details on where the sought items may be found, the strike teams gear up in hazmut suites and respirators with no skin showing to sift for items, he explains.
"We've been trained very well, and we're quite good at it for the most part finding some or all of what they what they were after."
"We put the time and effort into making them feel comfortable. It's not just a job; we deal with them like they were family. We want them to feel relaxed, we want them to feel good that we're doing what we're supposed to do and we're doing it right, and they can see that because they'll have their lawn chair in the safe zone, and they can watch everything we're doing.
"We act very professional, and we keep everything subtitle, because it's all about them, it's not about us. We just find the stuff. There have been positive remarks from everybody. It's been a positive experience."
He says one of their mottos is to help people that can't help themselves.
He says another is to get **** done, act like an adult, don't nitpicking, and no whining or crying. If you can't do that, go home.
Colling served in the Canadian Forces in the 70s. He has lived in Cochrane for almost 41 years and was a sheriff and peace officer for 37 years and part-time firefighter for 14 years.
He's says it's devastating to see what has happened to the mountain community. Only two stores and a gas station are open, and access was restricted to people who needed to be there. He says the local fire department personal were completely exhausted by their fight against the wildfire and have been relieved by those from Yellowhead County for the last two weeks.
He says he wouldn't hesitate to serve on another wave.
"They've asked for returnees for the last wave, which they called demobilization because there's a lot of work to do with that. We've got six trailers with trucks and they're from across the country."
Every item has to be sanitized, accounted for, listed, and cleaned top to bottom. All the extra food has to go back to the food banks, and cots borrowed from the Red Cross need to be thoroughly cleaned and returned.
"Then we just silently leave with no fanfare, we don't want any of that. We'll just leave, go back to our home caches, whether they'd be in Ontario, Nova Scotia, B.C., Alberta or wherever and just wait for the next call."
There are several Team Rubicon volunteers in the Cochrane area that have been called upon to aid in disasters across Canada, including a devastating wildfire that struck Lytton B.C. on June 30. 2021.
READ: Cochrane Residents among former veterans and first responders aiding in disaster recovery