Rankin Inlet (Oct 11/06) - Rankin Inlet fire Chief Rick Penner expected to have mixed emotions when he flew out of Rankin Oct. 5 for the last time.

Penner, who left less than a month shy of four years as fire chief, is moving to Carmen, Man.

He has taken a job in Winkler, about 30 minutes from his home, as the health-and-safety officer for Monarch Industries.

Penner and his wife, Debbie, have been dealing with family issues in the south for the past 18 months.

He says the time has come for the couple to deal with the matter.

"I'm sure a lot of people in the Kivalliq can easily relate to having to pay attention to family," says Rick.

"Elders are highly respected here and the advanced age of my father-in-law is the main reason for our departure.

"My time in Rankin has been enjoyable and, if not for the family issues we face, we would stay for at least another year."

The Penners grew to appreciate the value of Inuit culture during their time in Rankin.

He says learning Inuit culture has been one of the more interesting parts of the past four years.

"You bring friends up and take them to a feast and their eyes go as big as plates.

"Then you show them some carvings and artwork and they're almost overwhelmed by it all."

He is happy with what he accomplished in Rankin, but still leaves with a sense of unfinished business.

He gives his firefighters the credit for how far they've advanced during his tenure.

"I worked them pretty hard during training and they put a lot of effort into everything we did.

"We accomplished a lot of things together by working as a team.

"I wanted to stay, so, of course, there were some other things I wanted to do in continuing their training."

Training is still the best way to improve firefighting in Nunavut, he says.

Regular training is so important for firefighters because something will always come along to change what they learned yesterday.

"I'm proud of what I've accomplished with the Rankin brigade during the past four years, but the firefighters deserve the credit.

"I hope people appreciate how much they've improved their ability to fight fires and, in the process, save lives and property."