Forster done fighting fires
Chelsea Powrie - Jul 21, 2020 - People in Business

After 27 years as a firefighter, Penticton deputy chief Chris Forster is getting ready to retire this week.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better career, but it’s that time,” Forster said.

Forster came to firefighting out of a desire to help people, after his career as an accountant working across the street from the Penticton Fire Department on Winnipeg Street in 1989 wasn’t feeling fulfilling.

“A desk job just wasn’t for me,” Forster said. “I walked across the street, talked to the deputy chief, and he said show up Wednesday night for practice, and that was the start of my career.”

Forster then spent some years in Vancouver and Calgary but eventually heard the siren call of home.

“I had that desire to get back to B.C. Didn’t quite want to get back to the rat race of Vancouver, so I decided to come back to Penticton again,” he explained. “I did a few more years as an auxiliary, then became a career firefighter again, and here I stand today.”

Fire chief Larry Watkinson can’t heap enough praise on Forster, from his loyalty to the Penticton Fire Department to his skills that allowed the department to streamline their interior operations.

“The whole process of putting him through the hiring, he was a calibre above everyone else. And bringing his unique skill set as an accountant by trade into a fire department is very rare,” Watkinson said.

Forster says he has many standout memories over the years, from dramatic life-saving moments to more benign incidents, and he is most proud of the department’s work behind the scenes with local charities.

What he’ll miss most is the family.

“It’s the guys. They are, like they say, a second family to you. I got to work with this great group of people here. It’s a very close-knit family here at the Penticton Fire Department,” Forster said. “I’ll come by for a coffee here and keep in touch, but definitely my second family is the part I will miss.”

“I admire him enormously and we’ll be calling on him for years to come (for advice),” Watkinson said.

Moving up in the ranks will be Capt. Rob Trupp, ascending into the role of assistant chief with 29 years experience.

Forster is looking forward to retirement in Penticton and having more time to focus on his passion for physical fitness.


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