Capt. Earl Harding has retired from the Moose Jaw Fire Department after 34 years, and while he won’t miss the calls that end poorly, he will miss the guys with whom he worked.
Harding’s last day was April 4. He spoke to the Moose Jaw Express on April 5 at the fire hall on Lillooet Street. He joked that his first day of retirement was going well and he was looking forward to his time off.
The fire department’s mandatory retirement age is 60, but Harding decided to retire two years ahead of time, he explained. He had been thinking of retiring from the department for the last couple of years, since the organization had been making changes such as downsizing.
“I realized there’s a whole lot less time moving forward than there is behind me,” said Harding. “I got a lot of things I would still like to do.”
Harding, 58, has no immediate plans now that he is retired. He joked that he already has a “honey-do” list from his wife, while there are also some projects he wants to finish. Since they have no kids, the Hardings will likely do some travelling. He hasn’t seen much of Canada, so he would like to travel to the East Coast to sightsee.
Harding was 24 years old when he became a firefighter. He was originally a journeyman carpenter with a company in Moose Jaw. He was working outside on a hot day when a fire truck drove by. He thought about changing occupations since he couldn’t see himself being a lifelong carpenter. So he submitted an application and was accepted, kicking off 34 years in the fire industry.
“It’s been a great career. I have no regrets,” he said, adding firefighting is one of the most rewarding careers a person can have.
Harding’s co-workers eventually became like a second family to him. He spent so much time with them that they fought and argued as if they were siblings. However, when an emergency situation occurred, he knew they had his back and he had theirs.
“Your very life depends on that guy,” he added.
The memories that Harding fondly recalls the most are those where the calls turned out well — there were more of those overall. However, it was the calls that didn’t end well that have stayed with him the longest.
In a news release that announced Harding’s retirement, Fire Chief Rod Montgomery praised Harding for being a role model for young firefighters, senior firefighters and other officers. The fire chief acknowledged that Harding was willing to help with any tasks and guide new members, while he also had honour and integrity.
“I never really thought of myself as a role model or mentor. (But) I hope I left something behind,” Harding said. “I basically just came to work and did my job. If that rubbed off on some of the other guys, then that’s the way it should work.
“Hopefully they retained the good things and not the bad that may have showed up,” he added with laugh.
Harding does not intend to move away now that he is retired. He figures he’ll sometimes pop into the fire hall — as other retired firefighters do — and have a coffee while socializing with the fire crews.
