Father and son fire duos legacy very rewarding

A fire family legacy was recently rewarded with two area firefighters from the same family, being a part of the monumental event.

Marc Helton, a Senior Firefighter and acting captain for the Airdrie Fire Department recently received his Exemplary Service Medal. It was an extra special moment because his dad, Assistant Lamont Fire Chief, John Helton, was the one to present it to him. 

The Exemplary Service Medal honours twenty years of committed service, of which ten years were spent carrying out tasks that could be dangerous.

"It was pretty special to have my dad present it to me. There are a lot of people who either have received the medal or are in line for it. When you spend that time in a career that you love, time goes by pretty quickly."

John, who has been a firefighter for 49 years said it was very humbling and he was very proud to award his son with the medal.

"It was really good that the Airdrie fire department was able to set this up and asked me to be the one that presented it to him." 

Marc's firefighting career started in 2000 as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Lamont working alongside his dad. From there he went to school and got his fire and EMT training. In 2007 he was hired on with the city of Airdrie and has been working with them ever since.

His dad has been a significant influence on why he chose this career.

"My dad's been in the fire service as long as I can remember. Growing up, I saw him as a firefighter and as an example. I think every little kid growing up to see fire trucks and those kinds of things aspire to grow up to maybe one day walk in those shoes."

According to Marc, being a part of a team with highly trained, skilled professionals that take great pride and professionalism in their job makes working much more enjoyable.

John hopes Marc continues to advance his career and mentions if Marc continues to try and move up in the ranks, John will be there to stand behind him.

"I'm very proud of what you've accomplished, and how you've turned out as a father, a firefighter and as a son."

The end goal for Marc is to continue having a great career as a Firefighter and working with great people and keep going forward. 

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