CFB Shilo Fire and Emergency Services Chief Aaron Bull shows the August 2026 issue of Firefighting in Canada, which features the Shilo crew and Red 17. (Photo: Maria Matthies/Shilo Stag News)
Maria Matthies
Shilo Stag Media
Shilo Fire and Emergency Services stands out as an industry leader, with a first-time-ever front-cover feature in the national ‘Firefighting in Canada’ magazine’s August 2026 edition.
The article, “The Invisible Front”, written by Greg Bartlett, focuses on Canada’s wildfire environment. The cover photo shows a CFB Shilo crew and the emergency service vehicle Red 17 responding to a mutual aid call from the Brandon Fire Department in May. The front cover action photo was taken by Manitoba photographer Liam Pattison.
Base Fire Chief Aaron Bull said he was proud his team was featured in the publication, which reaches more than 150,000 industry professionals across the country.
Brandon Fire and Emergency Services requested the assistance of Shilo firefighters under the mutual aid agreement after battling the wildfire near Chater for more than three hours. Shilo was called in because of its specialty in natural bush firefighting.
“We do the most wildland responses in all the CAF, so for all the DND bases combined. Because we do so much wildland firefighting here at CFB Shilo and on the ranges, we have seven of those trucks you see featured on the front page [of the magazine].”
“The apparatus have a large capacity of water. They have a variety of different nozzles, like the turret on the front, which can be used to attack the fire. We have ground nozzles, so you could essentially drive over top of the fire and put it out with the truck. As well, we can use foam, and one person can operate all of that from inside the vehicle, so additional staff are not needed.”
Shilo Fire and Emergency Services has 45 employees divided into four firefighting crews, Bull said. For the fire incident featured on the cover, four firefighters attended from Shilo.
Shilo’s fire department is part of the Grand Valley mutual aid program, which also includes the areas of Carberry, Souris, Wawanessa, and industrial partners Manitoba Hydro, Coke Fertilizer and Chemtrade Chemicals.
A mutual aid agreement is a contract shared with neighbouring fire departments which allows them to share resources and personnel in moments of crisis, the chief explained.
with files from K-J Millar
CFB Shilo Fire and Emergency Services Chief Aaron Bull shows the August 2026 issue of Firefighting in Canada, which features the Shilo crew. (Photo: Maria Matthies/Shilo Stag News)
