Firefighters honour fallen peers

Welland Professional Fire Fighters Association holds first local memorial service

WELLAND

As the names of 19 more fallen comrades were being unveiled on a provincial memorial in Toronto, Welland's firefighters at home paid their respects to those lost in the line of duty or to work-related illness.

"Put your hand in ours for we mourn with you," said Mike Fowler, president of the Welland Professional Fire Fighters Association that hosted the local observance at the Injured Workers Memorial in Merritt Park.

"These brave men and women are in our thoughts and we carry on in their name."

Fowler reminded the small gathering about the 9-11 tragedy that six years ago claimed the lives of 343 New York firefighters.

"They died bravely what they were sworn to do – protecting their fellow citizens," he said.

"They made the ultimate sacrifice. There perhaps is no greater example."

Fowler, who with the exception of Central United Church Rev. George Schmidt leading prayer, was the only one to speak at Sunday's memorial service, said being a firefighter "is to know that every call you answer could be your last. Or that you could be exposed to deadly, toxic chemicals that could take years off your lifespan."

Every year between 10 and 20 Canadian firefighters die on the job, he said.

"They die in accidents on the fireground, or they die of occupational diseases formally linked to our profession, such as cancer."

In Welland, a firefighter hasn't died on the job since the late 1960s, when a captain, Dunc Doan, was struck by a heart attack while standing on the front porch of a burning home.

In 1993 then-retired chief Roland Bouchard died of brain cancer, linked to his career battling blazes.

The WPFFA ceremony was organized "because we understand the dangerous nature of our profession, the risks that our firefighters take every day and that we recognize the magnitude of the loss that is experienced when a firefighter does not come home at the end of a shift," Fowler said.

"Every one of these fallen firefighters knew the dangers of the job, and they carried out their duties in the face of danger because it was their calling to risk their own safety because citizens needed help."

While a memorial was being held here, Welland firefighter Peter Voynovich and Capt. David Nenadovich brought local respects to the Queen's Park Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Toronto.

It was there that tribute was paid to 19 fallen firefighters whose names were newly etched in granite.

“The greatest respect and honour that we can ever pay to our fallen colleagues is to remember them,” Ontario Fire Marshal Pat Burke.

“Their bravery and selflessness and humanity should serve as an inspiration to us all. We must never forget who they were, how they lived and what they did,” said Burke, who until recently appointed fire marshal was chief of the Niagara Falls department.

Lt.-Gov. David Onley said that while “firefighters do not regard themselves as heroes because they do what the business requires,” Ontarians see them as such because they dedicate their lives to protecting the public.

The firefighters’ memorial in Toronto fell on the same day that thousands gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the 30th annual memorial to fallen police officers.

– with files from Canadian Press

gfurminger@wellandtribune.ca