Calgary Fire Department honours fallen members
Dave Dormer | CBC News | Posted: September 13, 2016 9:18 PM | Last Updated: September 14, 2016
Nearly 80% of them died of occupational cancer
The noon bell rang 43 times in front of Calgary's municipal plaza Wednesday — once for each of the firefighters who have died over the course of the city's history — marking the 10th annual memorial for the Calgary Fire Department.
"Every day, across this city, the men and women of the Calgary Fire Department give their best in service to their neighbours and to their communities," said Chief Steve Dongworth.
"Many times, that means risking their lives to protect and save others. And sometimes, it means giving their lives to keep us safe."
An outdoor, three-storey monument bears the names and photos of the nine CFD members who have died on active duty dating back to 1923.
The other 34 names of firefighters who have died from work-related cancer are inscribed on plaques at the CFD headquarters.
One new plaque stands out among the rest — for Francois J. Rivest — who died in 2015 from cancer related to workplace hazards.
"For the longest time, we recognized those people who we knew were lost to the fire scene, or as the result of an accident in a vehicle," said Dongworth.
"We didn't recognize that for some, there was a cumulative effect that had the same outcome — a family lost their loved one," he added.
"It's equally important to recognize those folks as well."
Dongworth said the department is increasingly focused on safety and actively monitors its members' health — including mental health.
"There's a continuing conversation now about at what time do we begin to consider post-traumatic stress disorder, where it perhaps leads to suicide, as something that we should consider to be a line of duty death as well."
The annual event began at Mewata Armoury, then the CFD Honour Guard, Pipe and Drums and firefighters marched along Stephen Avenue to city hall.
Flags at fire stations across the city were lowered to half-mast from sunrise to sunset to mark the occasion.
Flags will again be lowered to half-mast on Sept. 17 in honour of the International Association of Firefighters Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Colorado Springs.