Forty-two year old Mark Calvert is Crowsnest Pass Fire/Rescue’s new interim Deputy Fire Chief.

Calvert was awarded a year long contract while deputy chief Curtis Stevens remains on medical leave/

“Hopefully I’ll be here longer but we’ll see what happens,” he said.

After a ten year military career, Calvert joined the Taber Fire Department in 2007 along with a few of his colleagues from an artillery regiment.

“I went down for training and never looked back,” he said.

Calvert said working for fire departments is alternately rewarding and difficult.

“I love dealing with the community on good days,” he said. “ But sometimes it’s about finding people on one of the worst days of their lives. Their houses have burnt down or they’ve had a motor vehicle accident or collision.”

This is Calvert’s first foray into the management side of firefighting. Right now he’s staying in Fire Chief Steve Debienne’s basement but he’s rented a house for February.

His family is moving to the Pass and his two teenage sons will attend the local high school.

“We’ve come out this way quite often to go fishing, so when we had the chance to come out, there was some debate between the wife and I but it’s an awesome area,” he said. “And to come out for even a year, it’ll be nice.”