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Jim Pendergast (Supplied)
Strong Community Supporter

Community of Penhold loses long-time fire chief

Nov 17, 2021 | 3:04 PM

Residents in the town of Penhold and beyond are taking the time to grieve the recent loss of an extraordinary member of the community.

Long-time fire chief Jim Pendergast passed away on Nov. 8, after suffering from cardiac arrest.

His son Sean, Deputy Chief, now Acting Chief for the Penhold Volunteer Fire Department, says his father was at home on vacation at the time.

“He cared about everybody and everything. He never wanted to let go of helping the community. That was kind of his passion,” says Sean. “There was no way he was going to ever fully retire. He believed that he held value to the community and to the people.”

Sean acknowledges the huge mark his father Jim made on the community and the fire department itself during his 12 years as fire chief in Penhold.

“He was a veteran, he was a member of the Navy, he was a hockey coach and a hockey scout briefly for the Olds Grizzlys. He had a passion for sports, baseball, and hockey. He was an Oilers fan, a Toronto Blue Jays fan. I think a lot of us in the fire department remember him as a passionate sports fan,” says Sean.

“When I was younger, I remember him contributing to all the communities that we lived in by coaching and volunteering for all the sports programs, even if I wasn’t playing on them necessarily,” adds Sean.

Sean Pendergast has shared the following information on his late father, Jim Pendergast.

“James Gavin Pendergast was born August 07, 1952 in Moncton, New Brunswick. The last 6 months were particularly hard on Jim as he was waiting on bowel surgery which was delayed multiple times due to the capacity levels of the provincial ICU’s during the fourth wave of the pandemic. This wait ultimately caused undue stress to his heart and Jim suffered cardiac arrest on November 8th, 2021 in the early afternoon.

“Jim grew up an army brat living across Canada and France. His father was a firefighter and eventually fire chief at CFB Penhold in the 60’s, giving Jim exposure to the fire service.

“He joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1970 and qualified for submarine school. In 1981 he joined the municipal fire service as a volunteer for the Town of Devon and an industrial brigade firefighter for the Dow Chemical company in Fort Saskatchewan. He would spend the next 40 years firefighting, 34 of which as a chief officer.

“In 1996 after rising to become the Fire Chief of the Town of Devon he moved his career to the City of Grande Prairie to become the Deputy Chief of Operations. In 2000 he took on another Deputy Chief of Operations role with the City of Red Deer. In 2005 he moved to the County of Rockyview to become a Captain and later Assistant Chief. Finally in 2009 he became the Fire Chief for the Town of Penhold.

“Jim was passionate about the fire service. In Penhold he transformed the Fire Department over 12 years into one of the highest trained and most diverse departments of comparable municipal size. With the help of ATCO he started a cadet program for high school kids looking to get into the fire service. This has substantially grown the department organically and now houses 15 cadets.

“Jim is survived by his wife Mona. His sisters Robin, Colleen, Cindy, and Holly. His daughter Kim. His sons Kevin and Sean. His daughter-in-law Danielle. And his grandson Owen.

“Firefighting in the Pendergast family continues with his nephew Zack Pendergast of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service and son Sean Pendergast of Penhold Fire Department.”

A celebration of life will be planned in the spring and announced in the New Year.