Site of the former Sanford Hill, newspaper clip of the pair (photos courtesy of Jeff Henricks)

By Liam Verster

History

Teenage fire fighters who died in 1944 will be commemorated on Saturday

Nov 13, 2019 | 1:03 PM

The Peace Country Historical Society is holding a free event at the Grande Prairie Museum on Saturday, November 16, to commemorate two local teenagers who lost their lives battling the Moose Hill wildfire in 1944.

Raphael Klein and Wilfred Derocher were both around 18-years-old in 1944, when they volunteered to help battle the wildfire as it threatened the Sanford Mill, north of Sexsmith.

The fire began in early May of 1944, during the height of World War II, and due to a dry winter and spring, along with the strong winds, the fire quickly spread. Derocher and Klein, along with a handful of other volunteers, most of whom were in their 50’s and unable to serve in the war, volunteered to fight the blaze.

On May 4th, they were dispatched to the Sanford Mill site, to try and stop the fire from spreading any further, but their efforts were in vain, and within a few hours the blaze had grown out of control. The crew of about 16 people ran to a nearby pond, that was used as a water source for the mill, where they sought shelter from the flames. All except Derocher, Klein, and another young man named Stanley Krezowski, who instead ran to the nearby barn to release the horses corralled inside.

Jeff Henricks, a wildfire prevention officer who researched the boys and compiled their story, says once the horses were free, the boys tried to make a run for safety.

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“They made a run for it, Stanley went first, then followed by Wilfred and then Raphael. And they’re running through this burning debris that was on fire, and somehow Raphael Klein tripped and was knocked unconscious or injured. And they’re standing there and Stanley says ‘Listen, we gotta keep going’ because they were standing in the flames, and Wilfred went back to try to help Raphael, and succumbed to the smoke.”

Henricks says Stanley kept running through the bush, and made it to safety, though he suffered severe burns.

In the following days, the bodies of the boys were recovered, and they were laid to rest in Grande Prairie.

Henricks says the Moose Hills wildfire was intense and massive, even when compared to recent blazes.

“We’ve looked at the fire intensity, the fire behaviour, and compared it to recent fires that people can maybe relate to. People think of the Fort McMurray [wildfire] and the devastation that was caused by it, or Slave Lake [fire] and the devastation, so these are two fires that are in people’s recent memories. But this fire was far more intense, more aggressive, than either of those two fires. The intensity that came off that fire in 1944 was far greater than what we saw, from an intensity perspective, or a speed, let’s say a speed perspective. It was a far fasting moving fire than what we saw in Slave lake or Fort McMurray.”

On May 4, 2019, to mark the 75th anniversary of the boys passing, Alberta Forestry established a plaque on the site of the former mill. Henricks says it is now a protected piece of crown land. Though the public are allowed to visit the site, Henricks advises against it, as it’s not accessible by road, the trails are all overgrown, and people could easily get lost.

The Grande Prairie Historical Society is now commemorating the teenagers, with a special event at the Grande Prairie Museum. Pictures and information about the boys, the memorial plaque, the fire, and the fire fighting efforts will be on display. There will also be a special speaker at the event, retired forester Pat Wearmouth, who will tell the whole story of the boys, and the fire.

The event is free to attend, and will be held in the Grande Prairie Museum’s Community Room, on Saturday, November 16, beginning at 2 p.m.