RDES Chief reflects on Firefighters National Memorial Day and 25th anniversary of 9/11

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“It’s very important to take that moment and pause and reflect on what the job is and what it means to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

Remembering the lives lost

RDES Chief reflects on Firefighters National Memorial Day and 25th anniversary of 9/11

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Schaefer said that as a firefighter, you can’t help but think about the risks of the job, and as chief of the department, he reflects on the importance of ensuring the staff he oversees are safe each day.

He’s never had a colleague lose their life in the line of duty; however, he has lost several to cancer due to the conditions and effects of the job.

“It does cause me to pause and reflect and remember those who’ve served. Cancer is an unfortunate part of this job at times,” he said.

The memorial ceremony will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m. at City Hall Park in Red Deer. Schaefer encouraged the public to attend the ceremony.

He said it’s a solemn morning as they honour the lives lost in the service. There will be a pipe and drum band that will lead the honour guard. There will also be a large contingent of Red Deer Emergency Services personnel, members of the RCMP, and members of some of the regional fire stations in attendance.

However, before that, Friday marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that took place in New York City and Washington, D.C.

That day in 2001, over 2,900 people died as a result of the attacks, including over 20 Canadians. Two commercial airline planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, while another was flown into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Schaefer was working as a firefighter in another community during the attacks and said he’ll always remember how much of an impactful day it was.

He said it was a surreal feeling to watch the events unfold on TV.

While he wasn’t directly impacted by the tragedy, he understood what the frontline firefighters and emergency crews were trying to do, which was to get as many people as possible to safety.

“September 11, 2001 really brought it to the forefront of the frontline risks of the job for all emergency services personnel and the citizens who lost their lives that day as well in the attacks,” he said.

The events of that day, he said, changed the approach of emergency crews on certain things such as the protective gear, exposure to hazards, and other ways to protect themselves.

He said that these things are often learned after the loss of first responders in an effort to do better.

“It really brought an understanding of the true magnitude of what can happen at times, and that was a very significant event in the history of North America. At that point, we didn’t know if anything like that could happen, but that day showed that it can. It always sticks in our minds as the worst-case scenario.”