City honours fallen firefighters with memorial
Two names added to monument this year both died from job-related cancers
Members of the Calgary Fire Department paid tribute to their fallen comrades on the same day many paid tribute to those killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the U.S. nearly two decades ago.
Flags at all Calgary fire stations and facilities flew at half-mast on Tuesday in honour of 47 Calgary firefighters who have died either on the job or as a result of illnesses — such as presumptive cancer or chronic health issues — related to their service.
During the ceremony at Police Officers and Firefighters Tribute Plaza, just steps from city hall, wreaths were laid at the feet of statues commemorating fallen Calgary first responders, and a moment of silence was held before the name of each fallen firefighter was read aloud.
A single bell chimed after each name.
Nine names of those killed on duty are immortalized on a monument in the plaza, while 38 who died off-duty are remembered on plaques.
Two more names were added to the list this year, those of 32-year-veteran District Chief James Brosh and 34-year-veteran Capt. Paul Baker.
Both died from occupational cancers, the department said.
Kathy Blas, who laid a single rose in front of the plaque honouring her late brother, firefighter Gord Paul. Blas, said her brother died in 2007 from a brain tumour, one of the 38 firefighters killed by presumptive cancer.
Blas also helped organize the Calgary Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge, which helps raise funds for firefighters suffering from cancer.
“The reason I started it is to make people aware of what firefighters face in the line of duty,” Blas said.
Chief Steve Dongworth said the event is always emotional, especially when speaking with the families of those killed in the line of duty.
“We all feel the impact. There’s a number of people I’ve worked with who are on that list, but for all these families who lost a son or a father … or a grandparent or whatever, it’s very difficult,” he said.
Dongworth also acknowledged the “psychological scars” many firefighters face after leaving the department.
He noted firefighters who have committed PTSD-related suicide can also be commemorated on the department’s monuments, but only if they received a diagnosis from a doctor and claim their mental injuries through the Workers’ Compensation Board, saying it can often be a “multi-year process.”
“The complication is showing that the person had the disease … but certainly there is that provision now.”
At least two Alberta firefighters struggling with PTSD took their own lives this year.
In 2017, Capt. Barry Dawson committed suicide after a long battle with PTSD and mental illness in the months before his death.
More than 300 mourners attended Dawson’s funeral at First Alliance Church last year.
And a service was held earlier this month after Edmonton firefighter Marc Renaud also killed himself after dealing with similar demons.
Blas says the fifth-annual Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge is set to run on May 5, 2019.
We all feel the impact... but for all these families who lost a son or a father ... or a grandparent or whatever, it’s very difficult.