Associate Researcher

I was born in Alberta, Canada and have spent 35 years working for the Alberta Land and Forest Service in all aspects of Fire Line duties. I retired in October of 2002 and now working with the Wildland Fire Operations Research Group on contract as an Associate Researcher.

My career in forestry began in 1967 as seasonal employee and in 1969 I became a Forest officer on permanent staff based out of Beaver Lake Ranger district in the Lac La Biche Forest. Since then, I have held a number of positions throughout the province. In 1974 I took a lateral transfer to the Worsley Ranger District in the Peace River Forest where in 1975 I was promoted to Ranger in charge. I moved twice in 1980, during the spring I moved to Kinosu as a Forest Officer III and later that fall I was promoted to Forest Protection Technician for the Lac La Biche Forest.

In 1982 I was promoted to Chief Ranger in Fort McKay District which is located in Athabasca Forest. This resulted in a move to Fort McMurray, where I received another promotion to Forest Protection Officer in 1986. In 1994 I took a lateral transfer to the Edson Forest as the Forest Protection Officer and in 1996 I was moved to Whitecourt as the Regional Forest Protection Officer for the Northern East Slopes region.

During 1999, changes to the way the Forest Protection Program was conducted resulted in my becoming the Forest Protection Officer in the Woodlands Forest area. I am certified as a Fire Line Safety Officer and a Type II Incident Commander, and used on a Provincial Type I Fire Management Team as an Operations Chief. This is the position I held until my secondment to FERIC. I am also certified as a Fire Boss II, and I am on a Provincial Type I Fire Management Team as a Line Boss I.

I have been involved with equipment research throughout my career and since 1997 I have taken part in the International Crown Fire Modelling Experiment in the Northwest Territories. There, I have conducted research on Personal Protective Equipment including fire resistant clothing, fire shelters, safety zones, escape routes and have also worked on Wildland Urban interface issues.

Beginning in March 2001, I worked with the Wildland Fire Operations Research Group in Hinton on secondment. My projects at FERIC included protective equipment, escape routes and sprinkler systems and I continue to assist in the completion of these studies.

E-mail: Gary Dakin

Phone: (780) 674-9544