Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 28/04) - When volunteer fireman Duane DeBastien went to battle the high school gymnasium fire last week, all of his fingers and toes were intact. By the time the fire was out, DeBastien was short a pinky finger on his right hand.

However, the 39-year-old DeBastien will never be too far from his severed finger as it has been preserved in formaldehyde and put on display at the fire hall.

"I thought it would be cool and hopefully it will help us get some new equipment," said the veteran firefighter of more than 20 years.
In addition to using the finger as an educational tool highlighting the danger of firefighting, the department plans to use the pickled pinky to help raise funds for an extendable ladder-equipped truck.

Though the blaze appears to be intentionally set -- RCMP have charged a 15-year-old in connection with the fire -- improper equipment also played a factor in separating DeBastien from his pinky.

Without a ladder truck capable of reaching the gymnasium roof, fire chief Al German employed a boom-truck with a bucket to put firefighters DeBastien and Chris Beveridge on top of the gym to cut a ventilation hole to contain the fire.

Unfortunately, the weight of two men laden with gear was too much for the bucket and it started to fall towards the wall of the gym, lopping off DeBastien's finger caught between the bucket's railing when it hit the wall.

Showed fortitude

Volunteer firefighter Randy Shermack, who rushed DeBastien to the hospital shortly after, was surprised at the injured man's fortitude.

"I thought I was going to need the sedative. Duane didn't really seem that fazed," he said.

And after getting his hand stitched up, DeBastien was anxious to get back on the job.

"The fire department is in my blood so I was definitely wanting to come back."

And how does he feel knowing that his injury was sustained in a fire that was intentionally set?

"It's hard to say how you feel," said DeBastien after some reflection. "It's too bad this happened, but that's part of being a firefighter. I lost a finger and nobody else was hurt so it was a good day."

Interestingly, DeBastien was in a similar situation once before. As fire chief in Fort McPherson, he had his left ring finger severed while working on an exhaust fan. Fortunately, a doctor was able to re-attach the finger.