Michelle Orsted running for 2027 Sask Firefighters Calendar

April 20, 2026, 11:00 am
Stephanie Zoer

Carlyle Firefighter Michelle Orsted is going out on limb to be part of the Saskatchewan Firefighters 2027 calendar.

Michelle Orsted is the kind of person who likes to be behind the scenes. She does not like being in the spotlight, but she is going out on a limb in support of the Jim Pattison’s Children’s Hospital.

Orsted is the daughter of Wayne Orsted and Wanda Matthies. She was raised in Carlyle and graduated from the Gordon F. Kell High School. She completed her degree in 2016 and is a licensed Pharmacy Technician. Orsted has worked at the Carlyle Pharmasave for 20 years.

She feels that she is following in her family’s footsteps as her grandfather Bill Orsted was a Funeral Director in Estevan and also looked after the ambulance there. Her dad, Wayne Orsted, was one of the first registered paramedics in Saskatchewan.

Orsted followed her brother to the Carlyle Fire Department and often helped out with small jobs, and one day they asked if she would just like to join. This happened in 2001 and 25 years later she is still a part of the volunteer service.

Through monthly training and the support of her family she continues to give back to her community when the call comes into the department. Training for women is no different than it is for men. Orsted is a Level 1 firefighter.

In 2019 she became the sole caregiver for her mom Wanda Matthies. Her mom has Alzheimer’s disease. This did not slow down Orsted at all; she took her mom everywhere and provided her mom with all the care she needed until recently when Wanda went into long-term care in Estevan.

During this time, she had friends that needed the Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon for one of their children. Orsted wanted to support in some way. Wayne Zandee and Travis VanMeer had both been on the Saskatchewan Firefighters Calendar, and she felt this was something she could do as well.
This is completely out of Orsted’s comfort zone, but she felt this was a way she could give her whole self to a very worthy cause. One hundred percent of the funds raised from the Saskatchewan Firefighters Calendars goes to the Jim Pattison’s Children’s Hospital.

Michelle Orsted and her son Austin Dovell help protect their communities through their work as firefighters.

April 25 is the selection night in Regina. This year three women will be included in the 17 people on stage in hopes to make the calendar. “I am doing this for the kids,” said Orsted.

Voting can be done on-line. The more votes the better the chance that she will get selected.

Orsted and four of her fellow firefighters from Carlyle were also honoured at a gala during the SUMA convention for their years of volunteer service with the department. Joe Bedecs, Ken Hewitt, Rob Klassen, and Travis VanMeer were awarded, along with Orsted, the Meritorious Service Award.

It has been a busy week for Orsted. She is excited and nervous about the event coming up. She is not sure what will happen that night, but she is happy to support the Children’s Hospital.