BANFF – Banff Fire Department’s new fire chief, Keri Martens, brings over 30 years of experience to the position fueled by a deep desire to give back to the community.
Martens’ tenure includes 18 years as fire chief of the Lake Louise fire department, where she first cut her teeth in the field.
“My parents and my grandparents were always heavily involved in my community growing up, and so I think that was just kind of something that I was looking to start contributing to and give back,” said the veteran firefighter and Saskatoon, Sask. area native.
“In Lake Louise [in 1991], there weren’t a whole lot of options. I had friends on the department at the time and they encouraged me to come down and check it out. It didn’t take long after that I realized there just wasn’t another place I wanted to be.”
Having moved on from Lake Louise, in 2018, she joined Canmore Fire-Rescue’s ranks as deputy fire chief, and in spring 2023, she joined Banff’s ranks as deputy fire chief.
Martens is now succeeding distinguished former Banff fire chief Russ Geyer, who retired after 16 months as fire chief and three decades with the department at the end of August.
“We’re very fortunate to have Keri,” said Geyer. “To bring Keri on and having worked with her for a year-and-a-half has made for a terrific transition.”
Geyer, who was born and raised in Banff, had plans to start a career in education before he fell into and stoked a passion for firefighting.
He spoke highly of the department’s community involvement, which he said has only grown over his 33 years in service.
“That hasn’t changed. That’s the wonderful part about it … We are a real part – a caring part – of the community and respected by the community, and in turn, we give 100 per cent back. That’s something that’s been consistent and I’ve been very proud of over all these years.”
Martens said much of that backing, in the community and in the field can be credited to strong and supportive leadership.
“I’m really grateful to the Banff Fire Department of years gone by – Silvio [Adamo], Jim [Abelseth], Russ and Mike [Geisler] – they’ve always been very supportive, whether I was in Lake Louise or Canmore,” she said.
Martens, who was the first female board member named to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs in 2017 and has worked with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, looks forward to continuing to champion diversity in what is a traditionally male dominated profession.
Being one of few women working in the field was not something that fazed her much in the early stages of her career.
It wasn’t until her daughter, who is now almost 14 years old, told her she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a firefighter, that she gave the issue more thought.
“She was little. She was maybe five, and it was like ‘oh, I guess I better get more involved to really make sure that this is an environment that I would encourage my daughter to join,’” said Martens.
It was the driver for Martens to become involved provincially and internationally to advocate for diversity in firefighting, for all walks of life.
“I’ve been in a room full of fire chiefs where I’ve been the only woman. I’ve been in rooms full of a variety of different leaders or managers for different departments in a variety of places, where I’ve not necessarily been taken as an authority figure, because I am a woman, but I strongly believe we are getting better,” she said.
Martens expressed enthusiasm for the future of Banff’s fire department emphasizing a collective commitment to advancing wildfire mitigation efforts as a key focus for the mountain town.
“I think we’re just really encouraging the folks that we have to continue to grow and expand and find the passions that they maybe didn’t know they had,” she said.
“Definitely, wildfire mitigation is a huge focus of probably all of ours – moving that work forward and continuing to build and grow this department and make sure that we’re in the best position to take care of our residents, our visitors and each other.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
