Barrie J. Lough,
Fire Chief
City of Winnipeg,
Director
Fire Prevention Canada

Flame of Courage

FLAME OF COURAGE is the definitive book on firefighting in Canada. Only through a pictorial montage can the true essence of the Canadian Firefighter be told. The scope and diversity of the profession is so wide and complex that it would require several volumes of text to even scratch the surface of its responsabilities, so Allan de la Plante took his lead from an old saw which states, "A picture is worth a thousand words".

To graphically capture the firefighter in his milieu, Allan spent six months "living the life" in fire stations from Atlantic to Pacific. I had the pleasure of welcoming Allan to my department for one cold week in the winter of 1992 on his initial trip across Canada. His enthusiasm for the project was upbeat and infectious, and it occured to me at the time, that he was displaying the adventurous young man's spirit that is part of the make up of firefighters everywhere.

The Allan de la Plante that returned many weeks later was a more reserved person, with a true understanding of the realities of the many tragedies firefighters face daily. Allan had, now through exposure to the profession, developed the insight to produce a balanced portrayal of Canadian firefighters. This book runs the gamut of the profession through paid, municipal, provincial, federeal, armed services, industrial and the backbone of many communities: the volunteers.

As I was privileged to view the hundreds of photographs from which Allan would select, I realized that he had truly captured the soul of the firefighters FLAME OF COURAGE honours, in a very special way, all members of this proud calling.