How Captain Gray Became A Firefighter And Helped Handle Bathurst’s Biggest Fire

Becoming a firefighter wasn’t Captain Chris Gray’s first choice for a career path, but now he couldn’t imagine himself doing anything else. 

Chris knew he wanted to work outdoors. Being born and raised in East Bathurst, the forest always surrounded him. He thought he’d end up working in forestry, but got into firefighting instead. 

“It’s kind of a strange story because there wasn’t one person in my family that was a part of the fire service,” says Chris. “In a career that’s rooted in tradition, I just went off on a limb.”

He took his Level 1 course to be a volunteer in 2000. The course, which back then could be done in Bathurst, took approximately a year to complete. The volunteer shifts for Captain Chris Gray were on Tuesday and Thursday nights for around 3 hours. At that time, he still worked another job. 

Then, six months after completing his Level 1, the fire chief hired him as a casual.

“That’s your foot in the door situation,” says Chris. “Once you’re hired as a casual, they start giving you your courses to complete your Level 2, plus there are other courses you take with that.”

Chris did this for five years, and then in 2006, he was hired full time. 

The full-time work week comprises 24 hours on, and 3 days off. Chris says that the days at the station are busy because every day requires checking your gear, going through the trucks, and making sure that everything is in proper order so that when the call is made, you’re ready to go.

It was on Chris’s shift when they got the call for the biggest fire in Bathurst’s history at Eddy’s. He started his shift at 7 that morning, and got the call around 8PM, and they didn’t stop for two straight days. 

When asked if the situation was scary, Captain Gray was quick to say those situations are exactly what they train for. 

“It’s a scary situation for anybody else. But we’re trained for those situations.”

Captain Gray parked close to the cage with the propane tanks and admitted that when the explosions started, he was pretty close. 

When asked what advice he would offer to younger people who are looking at becoming a firefighter, he says to be good at math and keep yourself physically fit.

“Fire department is a lot of mathematical equations on pressure loss, structural collapse, and things like that. And go to school right away. It takes a while to become full time, so get the course over with right away.”

Captain Chris Gray is a great example of someone born and raised in Bathurst, who loves the area, does great things in the area, and never wants to leave.

He says he left for a year or two after high school, but it must have been the salt in the air that brought him back. 

Here it is, another edition of the Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.