The Independent Staff

The new shields for Brook Fire Rescue will reflect the history of both the Inwood and Alvinston departments.
Over the last year, Chief Jeff McArthur has been working to merge the two departments into Brooke Fire Rescue. So far, firefighters from both departments have been happy with the progress made.
But there was concern when the chief brought the new shoulder shields to Brooke-Alvinston Council for approval Thursday. The senior officers in Inwood and Alvinston had agreed to one logo, which included the date the departments were established, but the final logo did not.
Both station chiefs were at council as McArthur presented the rebranding package.
Alvinston Station Chief Ron McCabe told councillors he was concerned the shield had been altered. “This is about pride in our department’s history,” he says. “Our two departments were established a long time ago and we want to honour it.”
He added the merger won’t always go smoothly so “when we find common ground, we work with it.
“We want to keep things moving forward.”
Inwood Station Chief Rob Howlett agreed saying the logo was a “way to keep our history and merge it under Brooke Fire Service.”
McArthur told council he simply wanted to standardize the shield but agreed it should change to reflect the department’s history.
“I don’t want to get caught up in something small,” he added.
“It is a big thing to us,” Howlett responded.
The shields will be used on uniforms. Decals will also be created for the equipment in the future.