A Canadian Volunteer Firefighter in Japan

GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD

By the time I became an official volunteer firefighter in Japan, I’d already known the men beside me for years. The difference was that now I could do more.

Wanting to protect the place I called home

I lived through the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. I was in Ishinomaki when it happened. That experience strengthened my desire to give back to the people of Japan—and to learn how to help protect the community from future disasters.

But my wish to join the volunteer fire brigade began before the earthquake. I’d wanted to join for years. My father-in-law was a captain, and alongside wanting to help, I thought: hell, why not spend more time with him as well?

In the community around me, I didn’t see many young volunteer firefighters, and I didn’t know another white man doing it. I wanted to get involved.

A long time before yes

Getting accepted took a long time. I tried, and I was rejected. Meanwhile, I kept building my life there. I built my first house in the community, became a kindergarten teacher, and was a permanent resident of Japan. People could see that this was my home.

I think the earthquake also helped change things so I was finally allowed to join. That is how I remember it; I can’t speak for every reason behind the decision.

My volunteer service was with the Kashimadai branch of the Osaki City fire brigade in Miyagi. A Japanese interview published in 2012 recorded that I had wanted to join well before the earthquake, and that admitting a foreign member required adjustments because there hadn’t been a precedent.

Already part of the group

The core group I spent time with—about eight men, as I remember it—were welcoming. I already knew them. For years before I became an official member, I’d been helping with local events and matsuri, the festivals that brought people together.

So becoming official didn’t suddenly turn strangers into friends. We had that connection already. What changed was what I could take part in.

Now I could do more

I could go and get my uniform. Get fitted for my boots. Join the live training, use the fire hoses, and drive the fire trucks. Those were things I could finally do as an official member.

There was the social side, too: hot-spring outings and hotel trips with the group. As I remember it, those trips were publicly funded. They were another chance to spend time with men I’d already known for years.

That is where I want to leave this part of the story: finally being able to take part more fully. I’d been showing up and helping for a long time. Now I had the uniform, the training, and more ways to be useful alongside them.

Source reference: MIA Club No. 62 (August 2012), Japanese interview “カナダ人消防団員 ～大崎の一市民として”. This story combines my recollections with the archived source notes from that interview.