First responders to reflect on colleagues lost and sick, as well as 9/11, this Sunday

“This day is a moment in time for everyone to pause and reflect. With 9/11 and the horrific events of that day, we need to think of those first responders and the impacts on them, their families, as well as the victims who weren’t first responders,” says Pelke of that day’s nearly 3,000 casualties.

“It’s also a chance to reflect on the presumptive diseases firefighters are subject to. They live a shorter life because of their chosen occupation. It’s a very important moment.”

Pelke, who is attending this week’s National Fire Chiefs Conference in the capital, recalls what he was doing and the emotions that captured him the morning of Sept. 11, 2011.

“I’d just gotten off night shift having worked the night before, and I was sitting in my living room with a bowl of cereal, in Winnipeg where my family was at the time. I’m watching it unfold, and my wife who worked for Westjet, was also feeling the impacts because the airport was shutting down,” he shares.

“I felt a bit helpless. There was tons of help and support that was on the way to New York and the Pentagon, but as a first responder, you want to go, especially when you see the devastation. But you’re too far away to actually help. Also, as I was watching it, as much as you hope people will survive, the first responder in you knows there’s going to be more tragedy. It was horrible.”

It’s believed that among the almost 3,000 killed that day, there were 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, eight paramedics, three New York court officers, one fire patrolman, and one FBI agent.

Jason Venema, present of the RDES Honour Guard for the last 20 years, reflected on his job and the people he’s known in his career.

“After 23 years, you start to realize more about the environment you’ve long worked in, and that it’s had not only a physical toll on you, but it’s exposed you to the possibility of work-related cancers that can come later on,” says Venema.

“Like with anything else, we can only do our best to avoid exposure, but it happens. I’ve known a few retirees who’ve passed from job-related cancers, so we keep them in mind when organizing this event. We want to bring decorum to it on Sunday and honour them the best we can.”

MORE: How a plane diverted to Newfoundland on Sept. 11 forged a 20-year friendship

On Sunday, Venema will read out loud all the names of IAFF member firefighters lost in the line of duty or to occupational illness over the last year.

They include Stephan Rayfield, who was tragically killed in a rollover near Castor, Alberta on Feb. 4, 2022.

“[This] is a reminder to all first responders how dangerous our jobs are,” Sgt. John Pike, Coronation RCMP, said the week after the accident. “Our hearts go out to their families and our partners in Castor fire department.”

MORE: Firefighter passes away in rollover near Castor

The remainder are as follows:

Acting Captain Rick Shumka – Saanich, BC
Captain Ian Sheppard – Toronto, ON
Captain Robert Charles Sommerville – Okanagan Falls, BC
Firefighter Stephen Bridges – St. Catharines, ON
Platoon Chief Warren Neil Lesser – Oshawa, ON
Firefighter Glen Grieve – Toronto, ON
Fire Chief Stan Mcarthy – 100 Mile House, BC
Pilot Heath Coleman – Blue River, BC

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

First responders to reflect on colleagues lost and sick, as well as 9/11, this Sunday

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