Lakeland College Emergency Training Centre (ETC) has been nationally recognized with the Federal Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award for its decades-long contributions to emergency management in Canada.

Shawn McKerry and Wayne Rose receive the award in Ottawa, Ont. This prestigious award was presented in Ottawa Wednesday, Feb. 26 by the Ministry of Public Safety. The award acknowledges the 65-year legacy of the ETC in training first responders, strengthening disaster preparedness, and supporting emergency response efforts across the country.

“We are so proud of our Emergency Training Centre and all they have done over the decades to train generations of emergency services professionals,” says Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, Lakeland’s president and CEO. “This award is just further confirmation of what we already know – that our students are receiving the best emergency services education in Canada.”

“In the last two years alone, we were privileged to support Alberta’s response efforts during the Parkland County Wildfires (2023) and the Jasper Wildfire Complex (2024). These were critical moments where the expertise and dedication of our team and graduates made a real impact,” says Shawn McKerry, dean of ETC. “But this award isn’t just about our recent work—it’s about the thousands of first responders we’ve trained since 1959, the generations of instructors and staff who have built this institution, and the legacy that continues to grow.”

A helmet unveiled at the ETC's 65th anniversary celebration in 2024.Originally established by the Government of Alberta as the Alberta Fire Officer Training School, the institution evolved into the Alberta Fire Training School, later became fire etc. The organization became a subsidiary corporation of Lakeland in 1998, and then a division of the college in 2004. Over six decades, it has trained emergency responders from every province and territory, with graduates serving in leadership roles across Canada.

“This recognition belongs to every staff member, instructor, and student who has walked through our doors over the last 65 years. We are standing on the shoulders of giants—those who built and strengthened this institution over the years. Our responsibility now is not just to honour that legacy but to build on it, to go further, reach higher and expand our impact on emergency management in Canada,” says McKerry.

As the ETC looks to the future, it remains committed to leading the way in firefighter training, emergency medical response, technical rescue, hazardous materials management, and emergency management education. Through continued innovation and national collaboration, Lakeland College ETC is poised to further its role as Canada’s leading first responder training institution.

Photos: Top, left to right - Jeffery Hutchinson, associate deputy minister of emergency management, Shawn McKerry, dean of ETC, Wayne Rose, ETC's section chief, Sherry Romanado, member of parliament for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, Que., and parliamentary secretary to the president of the king’s privy council for Canada and minister of emergency preparedness. Bottom - A helmet unveiled at the ETC's 65th anniversary celebration in 2024.