Firefighters honoured for their sacrifices

LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT HONOUR GUARD HOSTS EVENT TODAY

The City of Lethbridge joined several other Canadian cities to mark the very first Firefighters' National Memorial Day on Sunday.

In August, the Government of Canada announced the formal establishment of the Day to honour firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty. The memorial will take place annually on the second Sunday in September.

As a tribute, City Hall was lit red, yellow and blue on Sunday evening and flags were lowered to half-mast.

Today, as in previous years, the Lethbridge Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 237 and the Lethbridge Fire Department Honour Guard will follow the lead of the International Association of Fire Fighters and hold their annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial Ceremony.

Local firefighters will honour close to 140 fallen brothers and sisters of North America’s Fire Services.

It will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a parade of uniformed personnel who will march from Fire Headquarters downtown to Southminster United Church (1011-4 Ave South). The Lethbridge Fire Department Honour Guard and the Lethbridge Firefighter’s Pipes and Drums will lead the way.

The memorial ceremony will begin at the church at 11 a.m. The public is welcome to attend.

More than 1,300 firefighters have died in the line of duty since 1848, according to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation. In Lethbridge, seven firefighters have lost their life while in the line of duty since 1970.

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