'They paid the supreme price': Edmonton firefighters honour 4 new line-of-duty deaths
CTV
Active and retired Edmonton Fire Rescue Services members honoured firefighters who had died as a result of their job at a memorial on Sunday.
Active and retired Edmonton Fire Rescue Services members honoured firefighters who had died as a result of their job at a memorial on Sunday.
Every year, EFRS hosts the remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11, the anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in New York City that killed hundreds of firefighters.
Four new names were added to the list of Edmonton firefighters who had died in the line of duty. All were retired members who died in the past two years from occupation-related cancers.
One active EFRS firefighter was also recognized Sunday, who died while off-duty.
After each name was read, family members were given the chance to ring the memorial's bell, symbolizing their fallen loved one's final alarm.
While fire crews are constantly training, learning, and upgrading gear or tactics, Fire Chief Joe Zatylny said there continues to be risks with the job.
"I would like to see the time when we don't see line-of-duty deaths," Zatylny said. "It is a profession with a lot of dangers, and even the gear that they are wearing has impacts to their health."
