Firefighters march to honour the fallen

By Lethbridge Herald on September 9, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber The Pipe Band of the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services helps lead the 20th anniversary 9/11 Memorial parade to Southminster United Church where a ceremony was staged honouring first responders who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Fallen firefighters and emergency responders were remembered Friday in a memorial ceremony at Southminster United Church.

Members of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services marched down 4 Avenue South to the church for the 20th anniversary 9/11 parade and service.

The memorial is staged to remember those firefighters and emergency responders who have died in the line of duty in the past year as well as to acknowledge and celebrate the dedication and sacrifice of all people in uniform who serve their communities.

Because of the pandemic, mental health issues have risen and affected the LFES community and their friends and families.

The parade was led by the Honour Guard and Pipe Band from Fire Station No. 1 downtown. During the ceremony, a bell was rung for each of the fire/EMS staff who lost their lives in the past 12 months.

Acting fire chief Gerrit Sinke said before the ceremony “today is a very special day in the world of first responders” with police, fire/EMS involved.

“It’s a special day because it’s a day where we remember” first responders who paid the ultimate price and lost their lives in the line of duty, he said.

“First responders see, hear and smell things that most of humanity never does. And that makes a huge impact. We see that impact on a daily basis in deteriorating mental health and that has been an enormous focus of ours over recent years to make sure that the right tools are in place, to make sure our staff – first responders, it doesn’t matter what agency you belong to – are supported in the best way we possibly can,” said Sinke.

The acting chief added “remembering those who have paid the ultimate price in the line of duty is something that is crucially important to us. It’s a piece that we can never forget. But it’s also a piece we would be foolish to not learn from the past, as well. And we learn in things like mental health. . .we learn about things like job-related cancers and mitigating that as much as we possibly can, learning in the way we properly staff apparatus and make sure that first responders have the very best equipment to do their job in an effective and safe manner,” he added.