Firefighting was Eric Graham’s boyhood dream, left unpursued. Then 9/11 happened.

“One day, early morning, flicked the TV on and … it was a horrific scene to see planes crash into the World Trade Center. And then after everything started unfolding, you started hearing about all the emergency services that were doing their part to help out,” said Graham, now the Lacombe Fire Department’s new Deputy Fire Chief.

“It just struck a chord with me. It was something about firefighters going into situations like that and sacrificing themselves for the greater good that (was) something I couldn’t turn away from and I truly respected. And after that, I had an interest in what firefighters did.”

But he didn’t act on it right away. For another two years, he continued to manage a pub at a fishing resort in Tofino, B.C.

By then, the Regina-native was ripe for a career change. He had been manager for more than a decade, working his way up from bartending, serving and housekeeping.

Graham was in a grocery store when a friend asked him to volunteer with the Tofino fire department.

“Next thing you know, I’m putting on gear and doing the firefighter training thing and shortly after that, I felt it was the best thing in the world,” Graham said. “I felt like I actually found my calling.”

In 2013, Graham had become fire chief in Tofino. He left to take a full-time firefighting job as a captain in Creston, B.C., where he spent five years.

In Lacombe, he found a challenge. Bigger community. Bigger department. Graham says he’s in the process of relocating his wife and two children.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve found the community of Lacombe to be very inviting. Everybody’s super friendly and I can’t wait to bring my family up and enjoy everything Lacombe has to offer.”