On patrol in Fort Mac: Labrador constables go west for emergency relief

A pair of RCMP constables stationed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay are back in Labrador after an 11-day stint in Alberta, supporting officers in Fort McMurray.

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Jerry Goudie and Ed Power volunteered to go west earlier in May, along with 28 other RCMP officers from this province, to provide relief for local police.

"The RCMP members up there, a lot of them have lost their homes," said Power. "We were put in there to back them up."

Power and Goudie deployed to Conklin, just outside Fort McMurray, to respond to regular calls. They also made trips inside the fire-damaged area.

"We always expect the worst when we're on the ground, but you can't even put to words what you see when you get there. Seeing it on TV doesn't do it justice at all," Goudie said. "In certain areas of Fort McMurray it was just complete devastation."

Power said smoke was so thick officers had to wear respirators even while driving with the windows up.

"The fire traveled so swift through Fort Mac, it hit specific areas," he said. "You turn your head left and a whole little cul-de-sac, little community there, it's gone, and then you turn your head right and everything is standing."

Stressful, but rewarding

The constables spent part of their time volunteering with the Red Cross, where they met people from Newfoundland and Labrador desperate for more information about the fate of their homes.

"We both had friends that left not knowing if their home was still intact or not," Power said.

"I actually had a young gentleman from here, from Goose Bay, that asked me, 'Can you go in, please, and check my house?'" he said. "He was one of the fortunate ones who was in the half of the neighbourhood that was still standing."

This isn't the first time either constable has deployed as emergency relief.

We helped out. Hopefully we made a difference.         - Const. Ed Power

Both have travelled to different parts of the country to help during forest fires, and Goudie was sent to Moncton in 2013, after police shootings there.    

He said the work requires focus -- and he doesn't normally think about the impact until after his deployment ends.

"It was pretty surreal," Goudie said. "When you talk to families with 3 or 4 kids or whatever, and they don't have anything other than the vehicle in the parking lot, then you realize everything's gone."  

Power said working in an emergency is stressful and makes for long days, but it's rewarding.

"We're here to respond to stuff like that, and help as best we can. You don't really prepare for it, you just just get on the go and you go there," he said. "When you get back home you get a chance to say, 'we went in, we helped out, hopefully we made a difference.'"