Survivor’s Remorse and Rebuilding Community After the Porters Lake Fire | With evacuee Gary Stronach
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Wildfires, Floods and Chaos Communications, host Tim Conrad sits down with Gary Stronach, an evacuee from the 2008 Porters Lake wildfire in Nova Scotia. Gary shares a raw, deeply personal account of what it was like to be suddenly cut off from his home, unable to reach neighbours, and left searching for information as the fast‑moving fire surrounded Candy Mountain Road. Through Gary’s story, we explore the communication gaps that evacuees faced, the importa...
In this episode of Wildfires, Floods and Chaos Communications, host Tim Conrad sits down with Gary Stronach, an evacuee from the 2008 Porters Lake wildfire in Nova Scotia. Gary shares a raw, deeply personal account of what it was like to be suddenly cut off from his home, unable to reach neighbours, and left searching for information as the fast‑moving fire surrounded Candy Mountain Road.
Through Gary’s story, we explore the communication gaps that evacuees faced, the importance of community connection during crisis, and the emotional toll that followed - including the survivor’s remorse that lingered for years. Gary reflects on the confusion of those first hours, the struggle to find accurate updates, and the powerful bond that helped his neighbourhood grieve and rebuild together.
This conversation offers practical advice for anyone facing a sudden evacuation: what to take, what to leave, how to stay calm, and why self‑reliance matters when official information is scarce. It’s a candid, heartfelt look at resilience, community, and the human side of emergency response.
Visit www.communicationspodcast.com for more detailed show info including photos and videos.
News from the wildfire:
Dartmouth-area forest fire was man-made, investigators say
Charges pending in NS forest fire
See the 2008 Thank You video including footage from the wildfire https://youtu.be/Z-gyIkvCztc
Chapters
00:00 – Evacuation orders and first alerts
01:12 – Community gratitude for firefighters and responders
02:20 – Returning to the scene and recounting the fire’s path
03:41 – Confusion as roads close and family can’t get home
05:36 – Smoke on the horizon and being turned around at Highway 107
06:41 – Seeing the fire crest the hill and speaking with RCMP
08:28 – Viewing the fire across the lake and realizing homes were burning
09:32 – First community meeting with limited resident‑focused information
10:27 – Communication breakdown and inability to reach neighbours
12:02 – Searching for neighbours and confirming their safety
13:07 – Community strength, gratitude, and hand‑painted signs
14:17 – Reconnecting with neighbours and tracking people down
15:47 – Mental wellbeing message and crisis support resources
17:00 – Word‑of‑mouth as the primary information source
18:43 – Grieving together and the importance of community gatherings
19:10 – Short‑term planning and self‑reliance during crisis
20:38 – Advice for sudden evacuations: essentials, pets, calm thinking
22:02 – Why self‑reliance matters during mass emergencies
24:29 – Emergency response priorities: mass needs vs. individual needs
26:13 – Emotional aftermath and survivor’s remorse
27:47 – Loss, recovery, and neighbours rebuilding from nothing
29:05 – Coping through connection and rum tastings with Clive
30:29 – Closing segment and Canadian Training message
41:00 – Canadian Training platform overview and course offerings
42:00 – Become the Broadcaster: confidence and communication training
43:00 – Equipment guidance for new creators and broadcasters
44:00 – Operational Communications: building high‑functioning emergency workflows
45:00 – How structured training reduces stress during large‑scale emergencies
46:00 – Upcoming 12‑week program beginning in October
47:00 – Guiding learners through operational communication improvements
48:00 – Course expansion plans and future learning modules
49:00 – The role of education in crisis readiness and resilience
50:00 – Closing reflections on community, communication, and preparedness
Visit www.communicationspodcast.com for more detailed show info including photos and videos.
00:00 - – Evacuation orders and first alerts
01:12 - – Community gratitude for firefighters and responders
02:20 - – Returning to the scene and recounting the fire’s path
03:41 - – Confusion as roads close and family can’t get home
05:36 - – Smoke on the horizon and being turned around at Highway 107
06:41 - – Seeing the fire crest the hill and speaking with RCMP
08:28 - – Viewing the fire across the lake and realizing homes were burning
09:32 - – First community meeting with limited resident‑focused information
10:27 - – Communication breakdown and inability to reach neighbours
12:02 - – Searching for neighbours and confirming their safety
13:07 - – Community strength, gratitude, and hand‑painted signs
14:17 - – Reconnecting with neighbours and tracking people down
15:47 - – Mental wellbeing message and crisis support resources
17:00 - – Word‑of‑mouth as the primary information source
18:43 - – Grieving together and the importance of community gatherings
19:10 - – Short‑term planning and self‑reliance during crisis
20:38 - – Advice for sudden evacuations: essentials, pets, calm thinking
22:02 - – Why self‑reliance matters during mass emergencies
24:29 - – Emergency response priorities: mass needs vs. individual needs
26:13 - – Emotional aftermath and survivor’s remorse
27:47 - – Loss, recovery, and neighbours rebuilding from nothing
29:05 - – Coping through connection and rum tastings with Clive
30:29 - – Closing segment and Canadian Training message
41:00 - – Canadian Training platform overview and course offerings
42:00 - – Become the Broadcaster: confidence and communication training
43:00 - – Equipment guidance for new creators and broadcasters
44:00 - – Operational Communications: building high‑functioning emergency workflows
45:00 - – How structured training reduces stress during large‑scale emergencies
46:00 - – Upcoming 12‑week program beginning in October
47:00 - – Guiding learners through operational communication improvements
48:00 - – Course expansion plans and future learning modules
49:00 - – The role of education in crisis readiness and resilience
50:00 - – Closing reflections on community, communication, and preparedness
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;01;17
Speaker 10
to evacuate.
00;00;01;17 - 00;00;06;12
Speaker 11
At this time, we have to start packing personal belongings, clothing, clothing, toiletries.
00;00;06;12 - 00;00;06;15
Speaker 6
I
00;00;06;15 - 00;00;19;05
Speaker 8
They've called me and said, turn on the radio at the office. There's some fire down Porters Lakeway and there's something about an evacuation. And that was how we found out about it.
00;00;19;07 - 00;00;21;17
Bruce Frisko
So once the first units started arriving.
00;00;21;17 - 00;00;52;01
Speaker 8
On scene and we realized how large it was going to be, we started mobilizing our tactical unit and our command post, that sort of stuff. Rolling realized we were going to need a lot more resources than what we had there. At the same time, natural resources folks were rolling in RCMP, and we realized probably about. I'd say 45 minutes to an hour into it that there was going to be a large scale evacuation.
00;00;52;03 - 00;00;53;03
Bruce Frisko
A lot of stress.
00;00;53;05 - 00;01;11;26
Speaker 8
But again, their first priority is the protection of the property and the people, and they're very rarely thinking about themselves at that point in time. They're thinking about doing what they're trained to do. And, you know, they all do it without without hesitation. There's no there's no stall there right in there as soon as they need to be.
00;01;12;03 - 00;02;20;27
Speaker 8
Any firemen, anybody who had anything to do with saving our community is welcome at my door anytime, day or night. 724 365 I'll offer them beer or any other refreshment that they might want forever. It is just something that we cannot ever say thank you enough.
00;02;21;00 - 00;03;01;14
Unknown
made
00;03;01;16 - 00;03;03;09
Speaker 1
So it's like you're quite welcome.
00;03;03;09 - 00;03;05;17
Speaker 2
To beer anytime. Thank you very much. Thank you very.
00;03;05;17 - 00;03;22;05
Speaker 1
Much, Gary. So it's great to be back and and yeah, just really, you know, catching up a little bit while we've been getting set up and recalling that the host that's right next door here was destroyed by the fire. And the fire came right up into your backyard. That was this way. Sorry. This way. Or is this both?
00;03;22;06 - 00;03;26;19
Speaker 1
Oh, yeah. That's right. It was both, wasn't it? I always forget the witch. Yeah. You were the one that was surrounded.
00;03;26;22 - 00;03;27;12
Speaker 2
In the middle.
00;03;27;14 - 00;03;41;07
Speaker 1
And. Yeah, this was a ridiculously fast moving fire kind of ahead of its time. Now we see lots of fires that are that way across Canada. But a really close call here for a lot of people and.
00;03;41;08 - 00;03;41;21
Speaker 2
Very close.
00;03;41;25 - 00;03;47;24
Speaker 1
what do you remember of that day and the days following? Yeah.
00;03;47;27 - 00;04;24;18
Speaker 2
A whole lot of confusion. It's kind of a blur. All right. I was at work. Wife and my daughter were in Halifax, so nobody was home. And there was what looked like a fog bank out at the moment. Harbor. It did. A wife called and said, there's something on the news about a road closure out our way. And okay, so she started heading home and called me and said, we can't get into the house, we can't go into mine ville.
00;04;24;21 - 00;04;55;16
Speaker 2
They've closed the road. And I said, well, I'll find out what happens when I get home. I had to leave work and drive home and yeah, sure enough, there was a lot of smoke on the horizon and came down, came up to 107 highway and was turned around and said, yeah, you can't go this way. Yeah. And so we I can't remember where we went, I think probably to our daughter's house or apartment.
00;04;55;18 - 00;05;10;01
Speaker 2
We just sort of Saturday there and tried to find out something called bunch of people and couldn't get Ahold of anybody, and that was it. That was day one. And.
00;05;10;03 - 00;05;28;05
Speaker 2
We were kind of in the dark, didn't know what was going on. News reports were. Yeah, somewhat sketchy. Yeah. Because obviously they didn't know anything more than what we did. Yeah. That was.
00;05;28;08 - 00;05;31;13
Speaker 2
It was.
00;05;31;16 - 00;05;36;08
Speaker 2
Just a lot of unknown. They have no idea what was going on. That was.
00;05;36;10 - 00;05;37;05
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;05;37;07 - 00;05;38;02
Speaker 2
Back and relax.
00;05;38;03 - 00;05;43;28
Tim Conrad
We acknowledge and respect the Indigenous people on whose ancestral territories we work and play, whether the land is
00;05;44;00 - 00;05;57;26
Tim Conrad
unceded or ceded. Your relationship with this land and your culture is one we admire. Wherever we are, we are committed to truth and reconciliation through regular, meaningful actions.
00;05;57;29 - 00;06;15;17
Speaker 1
Yeah. And so that was on the Friday. What was it like on the Saturday? Do you remember what sort of happened that day? Like the fire continued to burn overnight. And that's actually when it destroyed some of the properties along here was through the night. They I remember the battle that they put up on this line and.
00;06;15;18 - 00;06;41;13
Speaker 2
Well, the Friday night I got Ahold of my brother in law, who lives on the other side of the lake, and he was a fireman, a volunteer fire department. And I came in. I came into his house, I walked in the road, walked police coverage down to the bottom of the road. The cop was standing there and I just walked, walked in and I walked down to his house.
00;06;41;19 - 00;07;04;28
Speaker 2
We we talked about what's going on and all that, and we went down to the end of the road and met with the another RCMP officer who filled us in on where the trucks were and what they were doing, and how they had to pull back from the fire in a hurry, because it was when it came over the hill.
00;07;05;01 - 00;07;13;16
Speaker 2
It was it was big. It was fast. It was scary. Yeah.
00;07;13;18 - 00;07;35;20
Speaker 2
Saturday I tried to come back again because not having any information from anybody except what the news saying, oh, there's a fire down the Eastern Shore. And it was like I needed to know something. And we came over to.
00;07;35;22 - 00;07;55;23
Speaker 2
Across the lake, the Boy Scout camp. We could see across the lake and could see the whole hill at night and fire everywhere. And then it was sort of like, oh, look, that looks like Clive's house next door neighbor. And it was.
00;07;55;25 - 00;07;57;17
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;07;57;19 - 00;08;28;03
Speaker 2
Kind of like a black void. We couldn't see much because it was all dark and everything, but there was a lot of flames, a lot of smoke. But yeah, a lot of, a lot of. Had to interpret what I could see based on my knowledge of the road and houses and say, you know, I made a lot of assumptions and that was about it Saturday.
00;08;28;04 - 00;09;10;22
Speaker 2
Nothing that I can remember Sunday, I think we were told that there was a meeting at the Coal Harbor Place for information meeting, and we went there and it was more or less to me, it was a media event. It was for TV, radio to get information. It was had absolutely. I can't remember a single thing about any of the residents, any people, anything that related to the people that lived in Linville.
00;09;10;26 - 00;09;11;06
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;09;11;13 - 00;09;32;09
Speaker 2
It was all this is how many fire trucks? And this is we have natural resources, helicopters and people coming from New Brunswick and stuff like that, but it really didn't address their houses have been burned well, properties lost, things like that.
00;09;32;09 - 00;09;54;21
Speaker 1
a pretty good recollection of your memory like going back to then. And, and so from my perspective, I was, I was just starting as a new government employee on that Monday. So on Friday the fire starts and burns all weekend. On Monday I go to start my new job, and I got a tap on the shoulder within a few minutes and says, I need you, you're going to go to mine ville.
00;09;54;23 - 00;10;20;05
Speaker 1
And I was dressed really nice to work in the office that day, and I ended up sitting on the back of a pickup truck just down on highway 107 here with the incident commander, and I was like, I think I'm overdressed for the situation. I was got rid of the tie and got to work. And yeah, it was, but at that point in time, the fire was had been they had it generally kind of in a sustained position at that point.
00;10;20;08 - 00;10;27;11
Speaker 1
And we're letting people back in on that Sunday. So, I think some came, some came in Sunday.
00;10;27;13 - 00;10;32;24
Speaker 2
On the other side of the. Yeah. The ones that weren't really affected.
00;10;32;26 - 00;10;44;23
Speaker 1
Yeah. You folks were longer getting in here because. Yeah, because things were in much rougher shape. I remember the first drive down here and a lot of block and, and unfortunately, of course, destroyed buildings and. Yeah, yeah, it.
00;10;44;23 - 00;10;47;21
Speaker 2
Was and yards that weren't safe and things like that. Yeah.
00;10;47;21 - 00;10;49;02
00;10;49;02 - 00;11;13;06
00;11;13;13 - 00;11;28;05
Speaker 1
you talked a little bit about some of the communication already. What, what's some of the other communications that you can kind of remember of the during that time, the whole time period. And what what was it like for you? What were the good things. What were the bad.
00;11;28;08 - 00;11;57;03
Speaker 2
Yeah, I would say the worst thing for me was in the first 3 or 4 days, not being able to get Ahold of my neighbors. Right. I, I heard that Clive's house had burnt. I heard that Ruth and Victoria's house had burnt, and I needed to talk to people in mine on Candy Mountain Road, my neighbors, because we were.
00;11;57;05 - 00;11;59;10
Speaker 2
We were very close as a community.
00;11;59;12 - 00;12;02;04
Speaker 1
Really was here. I really remember that.
00;12;02;05 - 00;12;10;06
Speaker 2
Yeah. So that was a hard thing. How do I get Ahold of them? You know?
00;12;10;08 - 00;12;14;06
Speaker 2
Basically nobody had their cell phones because they were in the houses.
00;12;14;07 - 00;12;15;00
Speaker 1
That's right.
00;12;15;01 - 00;12;25;23
Speaker 2
Yeah. We weren't allowed to come home. Right. He closed the road. Nobody's coming home to get the things that you need except. Well.
00;12;25;26 - 00;12;53;01
Speaker 2
Kim came in the next door neighbor here to get her insulin. Okay? She was at home and left and then was escorted back in, grab her insulin and take off. But the rest of us, we were 99% of the people here were at work. Yeah, right. And you can't come back in. So I don't know.
00;12;53;03 - 00;13;07;18
Speaker 2
To get Ahold of my neighbors to find out how they're doing was was tough, and I needed to have some assurance from them that they're okay. Yeah.
00;13;07;21 - 00;13;14;22
Speaker 2
Other than that, I don't recall much.
00;13;14;24 - 00;13;29;27
Speaker 2
Beneficial information. Yeah, there's lots of. Yes, there's two houses were lost and 17 houses were damaged. Had some degree of damage of some sort.
00;13;29;29 - 00;13;48;05
Speaker 2
You know, come to find out that one of the neighbors had a heart attack trying to get them out of the house. Ended up in the hospital. That was you hear it? You just don't know. Who was it? Yeah. Right.
00;13;48;07 - 00;13;48;27
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;13;48;29 - 00;13;55;05
Speaker 2
Yeah. Fine. That you don't need to tell the world. Yeah, it's his personal information. He's my neighbor.
00;13;55;06 - 00;13;55;19
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;13;55;20 - 00;13;57;07
Speaker 2
He's my friend, right?
00;13;57;08 - 00;14;02;22
Speaker 1
Yeah. Tough. Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was. It was very tough. And it's.
00;14;02;24 - 00;14;17;12
Speaker 1
Yeah, it was this this community. I just like my experience with. It was was just how tight it was as a community. And that was something I recognized took back to the the office. I was like, this community wants to do something to thank the firefighters.
00;14;17;14 - 00;14;26;23
Speaker 1
And it was amazing driving in here, coming down all the signs that were on the roads, hand-painted signs when people got back in thanking firefighters, thanking responders and so on.
00;14;26;24 - 00;14;28;19
Speaker 2
And it was my garage.
00;14;28;20 - 00;14;47;27
Speaker 1
Yeah. And so yeah, and it's just it was such a cool thing. And it seemed like everybody knew everybody. And that was the cool part about it. So when I went to create this video that we put together, part of that thank you event that we did at Coal Harbor Place. And and it was it was no issue finding people to be part of that video.
00;14;47;27 - 00;15;04;28
Speaker 1
And, you know, remember talking to you and you suggested somebody else and so on. And it just kept going like that and and then tracking you down this time, same thing. I put a post up on Facebook and listen a few minutes. I think it was probably about 15 minutes. I heard from you. I think it was pretty fast.
00;15;04;29 - 00;15;11;02
Speaker 1
It was shocking. I pass through to you somehow quickly. And you're not even on Facebook. Not on Facebook.
00;15;11;03 - 00;15;11;15
Speaker 2
I got.
00;15;11;16 - 00;15;12;12
Speaker 1
A.
00;15;12;15 - 00;15;32;25
Speaker 2
Text message from pickleball friend who says, somebody looking to get Ahold of you. And then, yeah, I had to do a little background check, make sure I. Yeah, you know, you're legit and are okay to contact. Didn't take long. Yeah.
00;15;32;28 - 00;15;42;11
Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah. It's, you know, you talking to you? Before I came here, you knew almost everybody else. It was on the list that I was looking for still, you know, so it's it's really neat.
00;15;42;14 - 00;15;47;18
Speaker 2
So some people have moved on. Well, a lot of people moved on. Yeah,
00;15;47;21 - 00;16;10;01
Unknown
Mental well-being is something we all have a responsibility to ourselves to be aware of and to look for ways to improve through intentional actions, such as getting outside or seeking professional help. As a responder, consider taking mental health first aid, which has been very important for the work I do. Interacting with people during large emergencies from residents to responders.
00;16;10;01 - 00;16;24;15
Unknown
If you are an urgent need of help in Canada, dial or text 988. You deserve to be heard. They are there to listen. It is a safe spot to talk 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
00;16;24;18 - 00;16;28;02
00;16;28;08 - 00;16;28;16
Speaker 6
place.
00;16;28;16 - 00;16;48;04
Speaker 8
That's why we were there. It was the source from the mouth. You need to doesn't really matter how much you read, you still need to see it with your own eyes before you can believe everything. But having having those briefings with the RCMP and the.
00;16;48;07 - 00;16;51;13
Speaker 8
Chief Howlett was invaluable.
00;16;51;18 - 00;17;00;22
Speaker 1
when you were you talked a bit about getting the information from the fires you used. Sounds like a lot of word of mouth from, from friends and family and so on.
00;17;00;24 - 00;17;04;00
Speaker 1
That was a primary source for, for those first bunch of days.
00;17;04;01 - 00;17;21;12
Speaker 2
A yeah, yeah, we went to place a couple of times and to be honest, I don't recall getting any valuable information.
00;17;21;14 - 00;17;34;15
Speaker 2
From the talkers politician talking. Yeah. We're doing everything we can. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Details. Yeah. The.
00;17;34;17 - 00;18;10;10
Speaker 2
Fire chief or whoever. Incident commander, he gave some good information. Just not what we needed right now. Yeah, right. I got more information from my neighbors who were there when I asked them. Have you seen so-and-so there? Over there or. No, but I know where they are. You know, their son's house or someplace like that. So, you know, that was contact that the information sessions were good as a contact point.
00;18;10;12 - 00;18;43;29
Speaker 2
I can find the people that I can't get any other way. And that was that was important at that time. Right? Because of our sense of community, you can't you can't tear us away from that, right and make us feel good. Yeah. You know, the biggest thing was getting the community back together so we can share. Yeah. There was a lot of grieving going on and there's a need for that.
00;18;44;03 - 00;18;55;00
Speaker 2
Right. But it's you want to grieve with your friends and people that are experiencing the same thing. Yeah. So that's what the meeting was for.
00;18;55;01 - 00;18;55;20
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;18;55;23 - 00;18;56;10
Speaker 2
To me.
00;18;56;11 - 00;18;56;19
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;18;56;19 - 00;19;10;11
Speaker 1
And so did you like just knowing all the things you've said so far? But was there anything else that you kind of wish? I wish I knew that. I wish I knew these things when it was in the moment.
00;19;10;14 - 00;19;15;04
Speaker 2
No, I.
00;19;15;06 - 00;19;27;09
Speaker 2
I guess it's because I, I tend to take care of things myself and not rely on somebody doing something for me.
00;19;27;12 - 00;19;47;16
Speaker 2
As that being said, I, I really like to know what's going on. Is there anything I would like to have known that at the time? The time just sort of like went so quickly. I did what?
00;19;47;18 - 00;20;11;08
Speaker 2
A survivor does. Right. Move on. Plan as much as you can for the next couple of hours. Right. I didn't plan a month out a week or a year I planned. What am I going to do the rest of this day? How am I going to find out what I have to do tomorrow? You know, it's all I'm not.
00;20;11;11 - 00;20;38;05
Speaker 2
I'm not going to solve the problem. I'm not going to fix anything myself for everybody else, but I'm going to support them. If there's anything anybody needs, ask me if I. If I have it, it's yours. If I haven't got it, I can try and find out. But as far as the information about the fire, no, I can't put the fire out.
00;20;38;05 - 00;20;48;21
Speaker 2
Sorry. Yeah, it's a little bit beyond me. Yeah, I like to try to do. I took to help. Yeah.
00;20;48;24 - 00;21;52;12
Unknown
made
00;21;52;14 - 00;22;02;20
Speaker 1
And so would you have any tips for anyone that experiences a sudden evacuation? Yeah. What would you give for advice to them?
00;22;02;23 - 00;22;15;22
Speaker 2
Don't panic. Keep it calm and think about what you need, not what you want or not what? We'd like to have it. What do you absolutely need for the next 24 to 48 hours?
00;22;15;24 - 00;22;19;03
Speaker 1
Yeah, right.
00;22;19;06 - 00;22;54;26
Speaker 2
There's like, you know, heart medications, insulin, things like that. You need those, right? Yes. You can get emergency supplies from your pharmacy and all that, but you got to have your identification taken credit card and move on. Get out. Don't waste time thinking, oh, I really should take the kids pictures I need to take. It's really hard to lose mementos, but it's even harder to lose your life.
00;22;54;29 - 00;23;16;00
Speaker 2
Right. Or the life of a loved one. Pets are important. Very, very important. They're like kids. Grab your pets. Grab your credit cards. Get out. Yeah. Everything else. Phone calls to your insurance company. Your broker will help.
00;23;16;00 - 00;23;17;08
Speaker 1
You.
00;23;17;11 - 00;23;28;14
Speaker 2
Manage that. You don't need to have your papers. Yeah, right. Yeah. Don't worry about it. Yeah, yeah. Don't panic. Don't go running. Yeah, right. There's a lot of people did.
00;23;28;15 - 00;23;29;04
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;23;29;07 - 00;23;31;08
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00;23;31;10 - 00;23;41;00
Speaker 2
And that's the big thing to me. That's. And.
00;23;41;03 - 00;24;09;00
Speaker 2
Well, yeah. I don't know when to say this, but don't expect help from anybody. Yeah. Don't assume the government will be there to fix everything for you. Right. You got you got to take an ownership of taking care of yourself. Yeah. I just know a lot of people feel it's somebody else's responsibility to get you back on your feet, to get things resolved.
00;24;09;03 - 00;24;10;21
Speaker 2
No.
00;24;10;23 - 00;24;11;04
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;24;11;05 - 00;24;13;28
Speaker 2
Be prepared to do some hard slugging yourself.
00;24;13;29 - 00;24;29;10
Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's that's something that's. There's a view sometimes in disasters that that somebody is going to come in and fill in a gap that you have. That
00;24;29;12 - 00;24;44;01
Speaker 1
is a personal thing. And it's, you know, very individual, like it's very specific to you, but there's not enough resources to possibly do that. They they don't exist on a day to day basis normally.
00;24;44;02 - 00;24;54;03
Speaker 1
So why would they exist in an emergency situation where, where you're trying to deal with a fire or a flood or things like that and. Yeah.
00;24;54;04 - 00;25;21;00
Speaker 2
Yeah. You're you're only one in a multitude of individuals. Yeah. And in an emergency response, you're not trying to resolve this person's problem. You're trying to resolve the problem of the mass. Yeah. Right. And sometimes it comes down to.
00;25;21;03 - 00;25;53;00
Speaker 2
What's best for the majority or the, the mass versus what's best for him. And it's different for him and it's different for him. You can't think you can't get down in the weeds like that. Right. And people don't recognize that. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I, I don't have a lot of bad things to say about the fire and the outcome of the fire.
00;25;53;03 - 00;26;13;03
Speaker 2
It's because the reality is it was a massive fire. It affected thousands of people. There were thousands of people involved in resolving that. I'm only one individual, and I like to think of myself as resourceful. And I can take care of me.
00;26;13;05 - 00;26;19;13
Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah. Good, good. My prompter died again.
00;26;19;15 - 00;26;24;05
Speaker 1
I have one of the time. Yeah. I hit the button and I keep forgetting to hit it, so I keep going. Everything look good?
00;26;24;06 - 00;26;24;17
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00;26;24;20 - 00;26;26;11
Speaker 1
Okay, well keep rolling.
00;26;26;12 - 00;26;27;09
Speaker 2
Good. You'll be able to edit.
00;26;27;09 - 00;26;49;16
Speaker 1
All the time. Yeah. Stuff to do that. So, so, you know, you experienced a wildfire that impacts your home, your community, your friends and your family. It can be very traumatic. So what was the impact on your mental wellbeing? You know, in the years after.
00;26;49;19 - 00;26;50;19
Speaker 2
See the eyes.
00;26;50;20 - 00;26;51;11
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;26;51;14 - 00;26;56;15
Speaker 2
Hear the voice still wells up. Yeah.
00;26;56;17 - 00;27;12;14
Speaker 2
It very emotional. I'm sorry, I, I have never been emotional until the forest fire. I really was very.
00;27;12;16 - 00;27;31;06
Speaker 2
Logical computer programmer. That's when programing in 1971 meant you programed and you you thought logically. And. And that's the way I lived. My life was logical step by step. Everything has a.
00;27;31;09 - 00;27;47;00
Speaker 2
A cause and a reaction. You know, you do this. This will happen since the forest fire, the the years, 2 or 3 years after the forest fire, it was.
00;27;47;02 - 00;28;01;24
Speaker 2
Very emotional dealing with. Well I, somebody called it survivors remorse.
00;28;01;27 - 00;28;27;01
Speaker 2
You lose the houses on both sides. You know, your friends, your neighbors, the family. You know how it impacted them. And I'm sitting here in a perfectly preserved house with I had to replace two windows and a door. Whoop de. That took me two days, right?
00;28;27;03 - 00;28;33;10
Speaker 2
Two years to rebuild that house. Two years to rebuild that house.
00;28;33;12 - 00;28;38;28
Speaker 2
Clive moved in.
00;28;39;00 - 00;28;55;08
Speaker 2
About a year before the forest fire. Expatriate came from England. Everything he owned in the world was in that house. And he has nothing right when he comes back. That's. That's really tough.
00;28;55;09 - 00;29;05;16
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00;29;05;18 - 00;29;06;16
Speaker 2
Sorry.
00;29;06;18 - 00;29;09;25
Speaker 1
That's all right.
00;29;09;28 - 00;29;16;17
Speaker 2
Been a couple of years since I've broken down.
00;29;16;19 - 00;29;28;13
Speaker 2
I will say one of the benefits of the forest fire was climb. And I got to a.
00;29;28;15 - 00;29;39;29
Speaker 2
Rebuild or build our relationship as neighbors. And we learned how to drink a lot of really good rums.
00;29;40;02 - 00;29;40;27
Speaker 1
That's great. Yeah.
00;29;40;28 - 00;29;43;22
Speaker 5
Yeah, it became.
00;29;43;24 - 00;29;46;23
Speaker 6
Kind of a.
00;29;46;26 - 00;29;52;10
Speaker 2
Coping mechanism. Yeah. We didn't get drunk. We just sampled.
00;29;52;17 - 00;29;53;11
Speaker 1
Sampled? Yeah.
00;29;53;12 - 00;29;57;19
Speaker 2
Dozens. Of rums. And it's something that sticks with you.
00;29;57;20 - 00;29;58;28
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.
00;29;59;00 - 00;29;59;14
Speaker 2
Would you like a
00;29;59;22 - 00;30;09;06
Speaker 1
it little bit.
00;30;09;08 - 00;30;29;04
Speaker 1
Did you do do do do do do do do do do do do do. It's until and it's did until. It's a little bit. It's.
00;30;29;06 - 00;30;39;01
Speaker 1
It and it's. And until it until
00;30;39;03 - 00;31;47;24
Speaker 1
did and get it. Until it did it and and it did it and did it. It's great. Until it until you did a little bit Detroit and little bit Detroit's at a little bit, a little bit. It's a little bit deteriorated at it until it, until to its related to the right and.
00;31;47;26 - 00;33;18;07
Speaker 1
It's a little bit until it until late and it's, it's up and until it, until you, until you into it and Detroit. Detroit until you get rid and did it get did it. It did. Did it did. It's until it did. And. Detroit and it did it. It's got a little bit did. It's a little bit rated. To us to get a little bit.
00;33;18;09 - 00;34;50;11
Speaker 1
And it. It's a little bit late and at bats deteriorate. And it did us and it's it's did did did a little bit. And it and it's a little right up at us. It's up to us. It's get deteriorated until it. Until it gets us a little bit. And it's a little at the Detroit and. Until you get us a little bit did a little bit.
00;34;50;18 - 00;35;40;04
Speaker 1
It until deteriorating. Until and until until it gets a little bit late. Until until late. Until did. And it did. It did us until did it. And until you get us and.
00;35;40;07 - 00;36;26;25
Speaker 1
It it's a little bit and it did. It's a little bit. And until critic and until it did did and it's returned to do it until it did it until it, it's a little bit. It's a little bit. And it.
00;36;26;28 - 00;37;34;24
Speaker 1
It did and did a little bit until it's us to do it. It's a little bit and did a little bit and little bit and a little bit. Did you did it? Did you get. It. Until a little little bit. Little bit until. And it's a little bit. And little bit. And until it's and it's us and it's great.
00;37;34;27 - 00;38;12;04
Speaker 1
It's it's a little bit, a little bit and and directed and written up and it. Until did a it did it. It until it did. Up and get a little bit. And until you get into a little
00;38;12;07 - 00;38;29;23
Speaker 1
bit. And and Detroit Detroit. Until and until it gets us. It retained
00;38;29;26 - 00;39;08;26
Speaker 1
its latest and greatest data until the Detroit and and it did it and and Detroit and and and and and and and and and and and and great great great great great up and and and it it a little bit
00;39;08;26 - 00;39;09;25
Speaker 1
different.
00;39;09;29 - 00;39;43;11
Speaker 1
It's up to Detroit and up. Detroit became up at the Detroit returned to do a little bit. It's up to and and
00;39;43;13 - 00;40;11;14
Speaker 1
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Speaker 1
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Speaker 1
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00;41;00;11 - 00;41;07;22
Speaker 1
This 12 week program will begin in October, and I will be guiding you as we give your operations an injection.
00;41;07;24 - 00;41;35;22
Speaker 1
Now I need you. Please come join me. Join me in creating courses and beginning learning at Canadian Training to help use the 30% off code in all COMMUNICATIONSPODCAST. That's COMMUNICATIONSPODCAST with an S all caps, all one word. Feel free to share it. Share it around. Save it for later and get on over to CanadianTraining.ca where you can share knowledge and grow together.
00;41;35;22 - 00;41;39;06
00;41;40;01 - 00;41;53;16
Speaker 8
Flames were so close and so hot that they melted the windows so they won't open. And it warped the aluminum door on the back of the house. So the the flames were very close.
00;41;53;22 - 00;42;04;02
Speaker 1
and and and. It until it up and until
00;42;04;04 - 00;42;31;27
Speaker 1
and started and and and and and and it's made it. It's a little bit bit. It's a data point and rated at a little bit. Data deteriorated. Little.
00;42;32;00 - 00;42;46;19
Speaker 1
Deteriorated little bit and did get up at and little bit.
00;42;46;21 - 00;43;30;13
Speaker 1
Data did. It's a little bit different data. Started up and it did great. Until data and it did a little bit. And did it, do it do it do it do it do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it. It's at us to do it. Let's do it.
00;43;30;16 - 00;43;45;06
Speaker 1
It's it and it did it unto us. And that little bit. And
00;43;45;09 - 00;43;58;22
Speaker 1
us. It did. And it it did it.
00;43;58;24 - 00;44;09;27
Speaker 1
It unto us. It.
00;44;10;00 - 00;44;13;26
Speaker 1
Did it.
00;44;13;28 - 00;44;24;02
Speaker 1
Until it it until it's got.
00;44;24;04 - 00;44;50;13
Speaker 1
It's a little bit until it did do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do.
00;44;50;15 - 00;45;45;07
Speaker 1
Until it and do it. Little bit and it's up. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Let's get up. Little bit. And it's a little bit and it's great. It's a little bit. It's a little bit late. Until. It's a little bit at it. It's a little bit.
00;45;45;07 - 00;45;54;11
Speaker 1
And until it gets a little bit and.
00;45;54;13 - 00;46;21;29
Speaker 1
Returned to get up and do a little bit late until it. And it's the data until it gets.
00;46;22;01 - 00;46;50;27
Speaker 1
Data critical and until it gets a little bit deteriorated. Critic. And it did little to get it until it gets a little bit.
00;46;50;29 - 00;47;02;01
Speaker 1
And little bit and it's a little bit late
00;47;02;01 - 00;47;31;15
Speaker 1
and until it, It's. It's up.
00;47;31;17 - 00;47;34;29
Speaker 1
And it's.
00;47;35;01 - 00;48;09;24
Speaker 1
Until returned and. And and unto us and and and critics until. It made us and did and started to and and and started and a little bit. Did you do. It's a little.
00;48;09;26 - 00;49;05;23
Speaker 1
Great great great, great. And and it's, it's, It's a little bit and it's and and it did did did did do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do it. It's it's a bit. And until it up a little bit. It's written directed and written and it until it gets it until to do it unto us.
00;49;05;25 - 00;50;04;27
Speaker 1
It's until it did it, until it and did it until the late at the. It's a little bit. It's. It's a little bit late. Until it and and it's great. Great, great. And it. It's a little. It until it. Unto until
00;50;04;27 - 00;50;50;21
Speaker 1
it did. Until it. Until it's us at until it gets us until it's did. And up and up and up to date and and and and and and and and and and and
00;50;50;24 - 00;50;58;19
Speaker 1
and.
00;50;58;22 - 00;51;22;20
Speaker 1
Until it and it and and stated. It's and it did and did it and it made us do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do.
00;51;22;22 - 00;51;28;04
Speaker 1
At. It's.
00;51;28;06 - 00;51;41;28
Speaker 1
Great. Did you get to it? It's a.
00;51;42;00 - 00;52;09;27
Speaker 1
It related to Detroit at little bit until it did. It's a little bit. Do it until it's a little bit late.
00;52;10;00 - 00;52;46;00
Speaker 1
and. Until it did, it did, it did. And until it gets a little bit and did it and it gets us. It's a little bit difficult. And.
00;52;46;03 - 00;53;41;09
Speaker 1
Did and it did a little bit. Did you, did you, did you get us. Up and did it. It's at a little bit and it's a little bit. Did you get us started at Utd? It's a little bit dated critics.
00;53;41;11 - 00;53;55;22
Speaker 1
It and a little bit and little bit
00;53;55;25 - 00;54;08;01
Speaker 1
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do.
00;54;08;02 - 00;54;58;00
Speaker 1
It's until. And let us do. It's. And it's a.
00;54;58;03 - 00;56;31;07
Unknown
made
00;56;31;10 - 00;57;53;06
Unknown
made
00;57;53;08 - 00;57;54;21
Speaker 1
Okay. One. Two. Three.
00;57;54;27 - 01;00;23;22
Speaker 1
Action!
01;00;23;24 - 01;11;33;29
Speaker 17
Thank you.
01;11;34;01 - 01;11;44;26
Speaker 2
I don't have a lot of bad things to say about the fire and the outcome of the fire.
01;11;44;29 - 01;12;04;23
Speaker 2
It's because the reality is it was a massive fire. It affected thousands of people. There were thousands of people involved in resolving that. I'm only one individual, and I like to think of myself as resourceful. And I can take care of me.
Retiree
Born in Bedford, Nova Scotia, in 1950, Gary has lived and worked in the Halifax/Dartmouth area his entire life. After completing computer programming in college, he worked in banking before joining the Nova Scotia provincial government where he worked for 30 years before retiring in 2016.
Gary meet my wife in college and married in 1973 and they built their house themselves on Candy Mountain Road in Mineville where they still live. They were the second house to be built on the road and have enjoyed over 50 years there, including raising two children in a wonderful friendly neighbourhood.
After retiring Gary continued to do volunteer work in Mineville as a member of the Mineville Community Association, doing park maintenance, roadside cleanups, community events and being a good neighbor.
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