Canadian firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty are now permanently commemorated on the Canadian Firefighters Memorial, officially unveiled in Ottawa, Sept. 9.

Governor General David Johnston was on hand for the unveiling of the large statue of a firefighter by a pole pointing to the names of those who have died in fires, on-duty accidents or from work-related illnesses.

“It is difficult for many of us to truly comprehend what it is to fight fire. Most people will never know what it’s like to approach, enter and climb a set of stairs in a burning building. Few of us will ever be called upon to stand firm before a raging, unpredictable forest fire, or to make quick decisions that can mean the difference between life and death,” said Johnston.

“Fire is an elemental force and, like other forces of nature, it can be our friend or our foe. From childhood, we learn that fire demands constant vigilance. But when vigilance fails or disaster strikes, we call upon our firefighters.”

The memorial was undertaken by the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to honouring Canada’s fallen firefighters. Incorporated in 2003, the foundation honours all types of firefighters, including full-time, part-time, volunteer, industrial, urban, rural wild land, airport, marine or those in the National Defence Fire Service. Its most visible activity is the annual commemoration held every September in Ottawa to honour fallen firefighters.

More than 40 artists and 25 landscape design firms submitted their qualifications and examples of prior work to a selection committee overseeing the memorial’s design.  The design chosen is by author and artist Douglas Coupland of Vancouver and landscape architect Mary Tremain of PLANT Architects in Toronto.

The memorial, entitled We Were There features a statue of a firefighter by a fire pole. His arm is lifted, pointing to the wall with the names of those who have died as firefighters. The 105-foot wall lists approximately 1,100 firefighters.  A lone pine stands near the names with the foundation’s motto “Never to be Forgotten” on a stone nearby. Plantings which turn red in the fall, represent retardant dropped by aircrews fighting fires in Western Canada. The lone pine was donated and is maintained by the Canadian Wildland Fire Service and its supporters.

At the suggestion of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, fire departments across Canada sent old brass hose couplings to the Harman Foundry in Red Deer, Alta., which were melted to make some of the bronze elements of the memorial.

The foundation worked with the National Capital Commission (NCC) to choose a location for the monument in the LeBreton Flats area of Ottawa. The locale has its own significant fire history. In April 1900, a fire began in Hull and crossed the Ottawa River, destroying 1,300 buildings and killing seven people. The fire was stopped at almost the exact spot where the monument is built. The site is also close to where Captain John Lowry of the Ottawa Fire Department was killed in a fire in 1896.

The land around LeBreton Flats was mostly vacant since the fire. In 1962 the NCC expropriated the lands but little was done with it since the soil had been contaminated by years of heavy industrialization. The grand plan for the area calls for housing, parkland and cultural institutions such as the Canadian War Museum which opened there in 2005.

The unveiling included a remembrance ceremony with Last Post and a moment of silence. It also honoured 12 firefighters who had died in 2010 and 2011, including pilot Jean-Luc Deba of Campbell Helicopters who died when his helicopter crashed while fighting forest fires around Slave Lake, Alta., in May 2011. Also among the 12 were Deputy District Chief Kenneth Rea and firefighter Raymond Walter who both died on St. Patrick’s Day, 2011, fighting a fire in Listowel, Ont.

“Each of the individuals being remembered at this memorial died in the line of duty. In doing so, they showed extraordinary courage and dedication to others. That their actions were often directed towards complete strangers makes their sacrifice even more humbling and inspiring,” said Johnston.