The Rural Municipality of Gimli is inviting residents to tour the firehall and meet their volunteer firefighters at an upcoming open house, with a public notice posted on June 25, 2026. The event offers a chance to see the department’s new aerial truck, which arrived this spring with $1 million in provincial funding, and to learn about fire safety directly from the crew that serves this Interlake community.
According to the RM of Gimli, the open house will let people check out the firehall on 2nd Avenue and get an up-close look at the gear used to protect the community. The volunteer department, led by Fire Chief Mike Chudd and Deputy Fire Chief Ken Arnason, operates two pumper trucks, an aerial truck, a water tanker, a rescue van, and jaws-of-life equipment, as detailed on the municipal website.
The newest addition is a Rosenbauer aerial truck that can reach 101 feet and carries 500 gallons of water, plus a foam tank. It was manufactured in Austria and delivered by Rocky Mountain Phoenix of Red Deer, Alberta. The Manitoba government chipped in $1 million for the truck through a grant announced in 2024, making it the department’s largest single equipment investment in recent years. Fire Chief Chudd called the truck a game changer for both Gimli and surrounding mutual aid partners.
The open house comes during a busy season for the RM of Gimli council, which includes Mayor Kevin Chudd, Deputy Mayor Kurt Reichert, Councillor Thora Palson, and Councillor Richard Petrowski. Mayor Chudd completed a seven-day suspension in January 2026 after a code of conduct investigation, but the council has continued its regular work, with Reichert stepping in as acting head during that period.
Residents can watch for details on the RM of Gimli website and social media channels for the exact date and time of the open house. The firehall is at 62-2nd Avenue, in the same building as the municipal office.
