(City of Red Deer/Red Deer Emergency Services)

By Sheldon Spackman

Paying Tribute

Local firefighters honour fallen colleagues on Firefighters’ National Memorial Day

Sep 13, 2020 | 1:29 PM

Local firefighters gathered for a small ceremony in Red Deer Sunday morning to honour fellow colleagues that have made the ultimate sacrifice while in the line of duty.

Hosted by Red Deer Emergency Services (RDES) at Station No. 3 on Lees Street, the event marked Firefighters’ National Memorial Day – held annually on the second Sunday in September to honour all fallen firefighters.

Jason Venema with Red Deer Emergency Services spoke about how important it is to honour those lives lost.

“This is our nineteenth year we have done the memorial and we just feel it’s something that we need to do to pay respect,” he explains. “As of 2017, the federal government declared the second Sunday in September as the Firefighters’ National Memorial Day, so it was nice to have that significant event dedicated and we do it here and most all other fire departments across Canada do it – as well as the memorial in Ottawa.”

Sunday’s ceremony which was closed to the public this year due to the pandemic, consisted of an Honour Guard parade, a reading of the names of fallen firefighters since September 2019, and a ringing of the last alarm, which Venema explains as three rings of three to signify the last post.

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“We were aiming for a discreet service just to honour the fallen, while respecting the pandemic issues that are going on at this time,” says Venema. “Since the early 90s, there’s always been a memorial. The International Association of Firefighters has had its International Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs every year, but unfortunately with the events of September 11, they almost coincide.”

In accordance with federal protocol, flags were lowered to half-mast.