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Crew History

The Flathead Unit Crew was established in 2011 and was originally comprised of 10 transfers and 10 new recruits. Over the subsequent years, the crew’s bonds strengthened and they became like a family.

In 2016, the Flathead Unit Crew lost a teammate; a dedicated forest firefighter tragically passed away during the off-season. The crew came together to raise money for charity, honouring his legacy and the impact he left on the crew.

In 2017, the Flatheads were flown home from the Riske Creek fire in the CC-130J Hercules aircraft. They returned to the fire in the same aircraft three days later.

In 2020, the Flathead Unit Crew was deployed with a large contingent of other BCWS crews to Northern California. In the same year, the Flatheads also traveled to Australia.

In 2021, the Flatheads were flown to the Sparks Lake fire in a Chinook helicopter.

While the other five unit crews in the Southeast Fire Centre are named after mountains, the Flathead Unit Crew is named after a valley.

Patches

The Flathead Unit Crew patch was designed in 2011 by Justin Wasilenko.

Crew Supervisor

J. Cook – 2023 – Current

R. Wiechula – 2020 – 2023

G. Brown – 2014 – 2019

J. Lindsay – 2011 – 2013

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