My name is Pat Alden and I am the Ottawa Organizer for The Rolling Barrage. This initiative is particularly important to me because of my connection with those affected and have seen what can happen. I am inviting your organization to attend the Ottawa event on 8 and 9 August. The ride will go from Ottawa to Kingston on the afternoon of the 9th of August, this may interest your members. We will be doing speeches at the firefighters memorial in Ottawa. We have invited the OFS Chief and would also like to invite you to say some words about PTSD and mental health in the Fire services.. I played hockey with OFS east div for 2 years and am aware you have the same issues as the rest of the emergency services and the military.

               
The Rolling Barrage is a coast to coast Motorcycle ride that raises awareness and moneys for Military, and first responders with PTSD and other mental health issues. We are a registered non for Profit Organization. 2020 marks our fourth annual ride. This year the stop in Ottawa which we call Operation Resilient Maple will honour and recognise First responders and Military members who have committed suicide. The ride will arrive in Ottawa on Saturday the 8th of August 2020 at approximately 430pm from Hwy 417 west bound and stopping overnight in the area of Huntclub Dr and Uplands Dr.(The Hampton Inn).

There will be a meet and greet event held at the Royal Oak (huntclub and Uplands) at 7pm on the 8th of August.

On the Sunday morning the 9th of August 2020 we will ride to the Cartier Square Drill Hall for 830 am where we will then make on way on foot to the Firefighters memorial on the grounds of City Hall. After this we will move to the Police memorial behind Parliament Hill for before the ride departs Ottawa for the next leg of the Ride going to Kingston about 1pm. Both the chief’s offices of the Ottawa Police and Ottawa Fire have been invited to speak. Members of Parliament and City Hall have also been invited.

Originally, we had about 12 riders planning on doing the full pull (the ride from the east to the west coast) and a large number of riders doing 4-6 day portions of the ride. What we are doing now is not what we planned for back in January. With the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic we realized our plans had to change. We have been doing background planning for the possibility of the event being able to take place.  Now that we are in phase 3 in Ontario we have a plan. That being said the Rolling Barrage will look very different from years past. At our National Executive level it was decided that this initiative is too important to allow it to drop off the calendar.  In Ottawa there is no Ceremonial Guard or an event on Parliament Hill as we did last year.

The Rolling Barrage will leave from Halifax on August 3th going across Canada to the finish in Kelowna BC on the 21st of August. So you are aware, TRB will be respecting National, Provincial and Municipal recommendations and regulations. The ride will be held on the originally planned dates, however there will be bubbles. The Maritimes will not cross into Quebec, and end their portion of the ride at the border of Quebec and New Brunswick.   The Quebec portion of the ride will leave from the New Brunswick border cross the province and come to Ontario. Ontario portion will start in Ottawa and move through the province. The stop in London Ontario is now being replaced with a stop in Petawawa before moving west and stopping in Thunder Bay. Manitoba will ride across their province stopping before the Saskatchewan border. Saskatchewan to British Columbia will be there own bubble.
 

The Goal of the ride is to bring awareness to the Canadian people of the trials our Military members and First Responders face daily. These demographics have much higher rates of PTSD and other mental health issues than the rest of Canadian society.

The Rolling Barrage has a Facebook page (@therollingbarrage)  and a web page  (https://www.militarymindsinc.com/rolling-barrage/)

Myself and my team are available to answer questions that you may have in person, by email or phone call.

Pat Alden

613-371-3414

pat.alden@trb-ottawa.ca

aldenp@ottawapolice.ca

Brother Martin Michels has been battling Pancreatic cancer for over two years now. Following a partial remission, Martin’s cancer has recently come back with a vengeance and he is now fighting for his life.

Since Martin’s cancer has now not been responding well to the OHIP approved and funded chemotherapy treatment, his doctor’s recommendation was to get him on this different chemotherapy treatment which isHealth Canada approved but unfortunately not funded by OHIP.

This is the only option he has right now and he needs to be on this treatment in order to stay alive and hopefully have a positive outcome in the end.

The total by-weekly cost of this treatment is close to $5,000. The drug manufacturer has agreed to give him a 25% discount which still leaves him with an expense of  $3,689.59 every two weeks. The Ottawa Hospital hasgiven him a one month supply free of charge which lasted him until last month.

After turning 65,  the Ontario Medical Plan (OHIP) takes over from the private medical coverage (through the employer) with fewer medications and treatments being funded.

It should be noted that not all cancers which Ontario Firefighters are stricken with are covered by WSIB. Pancreatic cancer as an example, is not a presumptive cancer. 

Several Ottawa Firefighters have been afflicted by Pancreatic cancer amongst other cancers which are not included in the presumptive legislation. Our hope is that we can raise sufficient funds to assist not only Martin, but possibly other Firefighters in the future by making this a permanent fund.

Brother Rick Cheslock who spearheaded this initiative, has created a GoFundMe page where you can easily make a donation and help save Martin’s life. Simply click in this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ottawa-firefighters-pancreatic-cancer-support-fund

Our President Neil Warren also had a trust account set up at Frontline Financial Credit Union for those who prefer to just get money transferred directly from their account.

This is a time where we all have to come together and help a brother in need.  

Any excess money would stay in the fund to help others in the future as needed.

Please donate what you can.

View full video here

As Fundraising Chair for the Ottawa Fire Fighters Community Foundation, I am responsible for identifying funding sources and soliciting the operating budget that allows us to maintain and constantly upgrade our Memorial Site as well as conducting an honourable and respectful Annual Memorial Service.

Like all charitable organizations we must compete for funding.  This has become especially difficult during this current pandemic.  In the past, we have been able to avoid direct requests for operating capital by holding fundraising events throughout the year.  Unfortunately, like all large gatherings, Covid-19 has also put our events on hold. Read More > 

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Click on the link below to listen to the audio interview.

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We would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to all our amazing members who have been sending in a steady flow of email responses following our appeal for help during this growing pandemic crisis. We are currently gathering a data base of volunteers in different capacity categories and we continue to encourage those who are in a position to help to join our group of volunteers to please contact us.

Yesterday , I reached out to our Friends and Partners at Firehouse Subs to see if they could join our efforts to help our active and retired firefighters families in time of need.  I went through the details of our Covid-19 ROFFA Emergency Assistance Plan with Ottawa franchise owner Phil Patel who immediately told me that he was on board with us. With the support of our members who have so far offereded to volunteer help with this kind of effort and hopefully many more to come, this will be another way to do something great in order for us to help our members in need.

I am proud to announce that in cooperation with Firehouse Subs Restaurants from both Ottawa locations, (41 Marketplace Ave in Barrhaven and 2014 Ogilvie Rd in Gloucester), ROFFA is now able to offer FREE of charge Boxed Lunches ( sandwiches Cookies, pickle spears and canned Coke soft drinks)  to both active and retired firefighters families who are unable to leave their homes due to being quarantined or in mandatory self-isolation. Additionally, fire station crews who are selflessly working to keep everyone else safe in the city during this unprecedented crisis and need to be fed because they were too busy to cook their own meals, Firehouse Subs Ottawa will be there for them also.

The plan is to get FREE food to those in need using some of our ROFFA volunteers to pick up and deliver.

If you fall within that category, live within a reasonable distance from these two restaurants, simply reach out to us and we'll make it happen for you. We are just asking that you please try to give us as much notice as possible in order for us enough time to coordinate the deliveries with our volunteers.. Firehouse Subs have agreed to deliver to the fire stations themselves on shorter notices if needed.

I would like to ask all volunteers who live in close proximities to these two restaurants and can help with this service to please let me know.  Following proper hygiene and personal protection protocols including social distancing is of upmost importance for all involved in order for everyone to stay safe.

Both Firehouse Subs location are currently open for take-out service only,  between 11am and 8pm, 7 days a week.  I would like to ask everyone else who are mobile to please encourage them and to buy a meal from their take-out service. If you have not tried them yet, you will be impressed. If you mention that you are a retired or active firefighter, you will receive a free soft drink.

I urge all those who have not signed up yet and are able to help in any capacity (including joining the list of volunteers for the OFS Emergency Contingency Plan), to please sign up as volunteers as we could possibly need many more depending on how bad the pandemic wave hits Ottawa. 

Now is the time our ROFFA Family to all join together and make good things happen. That is what Firefighters are all about!

Please take care of yourselves and stay safe everyone,

Bob Larochelle

Vice-President and

Website Managing Editor

Retired Ottawa Fire Fighters Association

DEAR ROFFA MEMBERS,

It has been an extraordinary two weeks ever since the Canadian Prime Minister warned all Canadians from abroad to return home “now” and with the ever-changing reality of how Covid-19 has brought unprecedented disruptions to our daily lives. We are suddenly finding  ourselves in a world full of closures of pretty well everything except essential services, people working from home, record unemployment rates, imposed self-isolation for many and social distancing for everyone else. Our lives have literally been turned upside down and no one knows exactly how long it will be before life goes back to normal.

With news reports going around everywhere about Retired Frontline Workers being called back to help, there has been many questions floating around and discussions between our members on where and if our retired members fit in the OFS Emergency Preparedness Contingency Plan. As we can clearly see from what’s happening around the world right now, the rampant Covid-19 Pandemic is requiring extraordinary measures during extraordinary times.

This past Monday, we reached out the Fire Chief Ayotte to discuss this matter and we wanted to let him know that ROFFA could be there to help if needed. Chief Ayotte was very grateful for the offer and he mentioned that retired members were in fact included in the Emergency Contingency plan but down the list after all other reasonable options would be exhausted. Nevertheless, he suggested that it might be a good idea that we get the message out to our members and put together a database of potential volunteers.

Yesterday, the ROFFA Board of Directors and three of our Past Presidents held an online video conference to discuss this matter and several different options on what we can do as an Association of Retired Firefighters with such great resources, to help in this time of crisis. We are clearly aware that the a large majority of our members are in the higher risk group associated with more serious illness or death if infected by the virus, but still, we concluded that there are still many different ways that we could step up and  help with a limited amount of exposure.

Following our conference, we submitted a summary of our discussion and ideas to John Sobey, President of the OPFFA local 162 and Fire Chief, Kim Ayotte Ayotte for their review. Our report was well received and they are both appreciative of such an offer of support coming from the retirees.

In these unprecedented times, we are better to be prepared for the worse and hope for the best. At this time, it has been reported to us that the OFS is very well staffed with no real issues except  for 45 members currently in isolation but we know very well that the wave has not hit Ottawa yet so things could change very rapidly. You can follow the IAFF Member Covid-19 Tracking Chart where you can see for yourselves the evolving cases within all IAFF locals.

At this time, we would like to reach out to our retired members and families who might be in need of assistance now and in the weeks to come. We can offer help to  those of you who are just returning from out-of-country can’t leave your home because you are in quarantine, on self-isolation , or whether you are older or have an underlying condition, or just simply afraid of going out of your house and have no one to help you getting some groceries or anything else. There are those who simply in need to talk to someone and we can be there for those also. We welcome anyone in need to please let us know and we’ll find someone to give you some assistance.

We are calling on all our members and especially those healthy and younger ones who are able to come forward and support our efforts now or in the coming weeks or months to please send us a note either by sending an email or through our Facebook page. Please identify in what kind of capacity you think that you would be able to help. We will keep a data base of all of you who come forward and call on you if needed.

For many of you who are receiving a ROFFA News Alert for the first time today, it’s because you retired over the past while and were not in possession of your contact information until this morning.

If you know any of our retirees who are not on our email distribution list, could you please forward them this message and urge them to contact  us via email  so that they can also receive future announcements. 

We appreciate everyone’s collaboration in these most unprecedented times.

Please take care and stay safe  everyone,

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Bob Larochelle

Vice-President and

Website Managing Editor

Retired Ottawa Fire Fighters Association

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Neil McMillan, WSIB Chairman of our IAFF local 162 just returned from a cancer fundraising event and I wanted to share with you this very important initiative that can benefit anyone of us. Thank you Neil, we appreciate everything you do for our members!

Here is the note that I received:

I am coming home from a very informative firefighter cancer symposium at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.  There, I had the opportunity to raise funds for cancer research and represent both our active and retired brothers/sisters in Ottawa on the back of my race shirt. (see below)

The Dolphin Cancer Challenge is the largest charity event that any NFL team has partnered with.  All funds raised go to the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.  It takes place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (where this year’s Super Bowl was held).  This year was the 10 year anniversary of this event.  It has raised $32,761,689.00 to date, and this year the event raised $4,867,506.85 from almost 4000 participants. 

The Sylvester CCC specifically invests in firefighter cancer research.  Initiatives they have studied include:

• PAH sampling through wearable sensors

• personal exposure reporting app

• PFAS in firefighters and routes of exposure

• online firefighter cancer prevention educational program

• research into fire investigator cancer risk 

• fire station design and decon

• new sampling and collection methods for heavy metal in firefighters

• female firefighter epidemiological studies

• thyroid cancer and it’s link to flame retardants

• best practices and awareness for cancer prevention & healthy lifestyle choices 

There are six different run/walk/cycle options to participate in:

5km run/walk

17 mile cycle

30 mile cycle

33 mile cycle

53 mile cycle

102 mile cycle

I would encourage anyone to take part in this positive and uplifting event which helps to fund efforts to reduce occupational firefighter cancer.  Maybe next year our ROFFA brother/sister snowbirds could have a ROFFA team which allows all cancer survivors also get enrollment in the Living Proof honorary team for the event.

We received the following letter:

I am the property director of a children’s' camp located on the east bank of the Rideau River north of Kemptville. Our property manager will be retiring at the end of the 2020 season. We are looking for a suitable replacement to start on May 1, 2021. It is our hope that a prospective candidate would also be available once a week during the 2020 season to train alongside the current property manager.

Our season begins on or after the long weekend in May with weekend rentals to groups that are seeking a venue that can accommodate up to 100 people and has cooking and dining facilities. There are 10 sleeping cabins, a dining hall, a recreation  building, and other buildings to accommodate nursing and administrative staff. There is a fleet of 12 canoes with the necessary accessories, housed in a new building.

There is a large swimming pool facility that operates from July 1 to the first week in September.  Camp sessions for children 6 to 15 are offered in July and August.

There is a maintenance building housing tools and equipment needed to maintain the camp. This includes lawn mowers, a 65 hp tractor, and a tractor-driven generator for emergency situations.

The camp is administered by a dedicated council of volunteers and supported by a strong group of community volunteers who are available for special events such as opening and closing the camp in the spring and fall.

I am contacting you as you might be able to identify members of your union who are retired or would be retiring in the next year and might be interested part time employment in 2021.  Interested people can contact me by email at rachristie216@gmail.com   or by phone at 613-989-5358.

If there is some interest a detailed job description will be provided and an interview will be arranged.

Thank you.
 

Richard Christie, Property director

Rideau Hill Camp

3560 River Rd

Kemptville ON K0G 1J0

https://rideauhillcamp.com/

Retired brothers and sisters,

This grant is available to the families of first responders who have died as a result of their duties on or after April 1, 2018. Please share with any family who may be eligible so they may apply if they haven’t already.

“The Memorial Grant Program for First Responders recognizes the service and sacrifice of responders in keeping Canadians safe. Through the program, families of first responders who die as a result of their duties can receive a one-time lump sum, tax-free direct maximum payment of $300,000.”
 

Eligibility Criteria…

·         The date of death must be on or after April 1, 2018.

·         The deceased first responder must have been employed or formally engaged to carry out the duties of a police officer, firefighter or a paramedic. This includes all volunteers, auxiliary and reservists.

·         The death of the first responder must have been attributable to, and resulting from, the performance of official duties in the following circumstances:

·         a fatal injury while actively engaged in the duties of a first responder in Canada;

·         an occupational illness primarily resulting from employment as a first responder; or

·         a psychological impairment or occupational stress injury (e.g., post-traumatic stress injuries) resulting in suicide. 
 

For more information follow these links
 

Awareness Brochure
 

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2019-mmrl-grnt-prgrm/2019-mmrl-grnt-prgrm-en.pdf
 

View the presentation by Scott Marks,  Assistant to the General President for Canadian Operations IAFF (11 minutes duration)
 

https://youtu.be/3KHDvaRNr6M
 

Regards,

GPedwell

Gerry Pedwell

President

Ontario Retired Fire Fighters Association

19 Shannon Ct., Whitby, ON. L1N6B6

905-706-1560

The Wayne Sabourin Award  (Tony Wu & Jeremy Flinter)
 

This Award is given annually to a member or members of the Association who show dedication, devotion, and professionalism to our department and community. This year’s recipients have been donating their off duty time to charities since being hired in 2009. They have attended 100’s of events through the years representing the Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters Association and raising thousands of dollars for charity. They are very reliable and likeable to the point of charities requesting them by name. They are true ambassadors for the Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters Association and Ottawa Fire Services. Since they are the only members who sign up for events with a single e-mail speaking for both of them, it’s only fitting that they receive this award together. The 2019 Wayne Sabourin Award recipients are Jeremy Flinter & Tony Wu.

The St. Florian Award (Rico Cossette)
 

The Award shall recognize a member(s) of the Community that has distinguished themselves in assisting members of the OPFFA and in so doing, who has elevated the material, intellectual, and moral conditions of the entire labouring class.  

Rico has been a go to guy for Salvation Army / ROFFA Canteen Truck team and was an amazing ambassador for the Canteen truck, the Ottawa Fire Service and firefighting in general.    When Rico was contacted for a call out, he never said no unless he was at his Cottage. Short on CVOR certified drivers, Rico was one of the core group we called on more often then was fair, but he always greeted the calls night or day with a positive attitude and a “where are we going."   Whether it was fires, floods or tornadoes, Rico always answered the call with a smile and a giggle.   His friendship, commitment, spirit and dedication cannot be replaced and his loss has left us all with a heavy heart .We can all remember the good times we have shared with Rico.   I know I can speak for the entire Salvation Army / ROFFA Canteen Truck team when I say we have felt truly honoured to have known, worked with and been able to call Rico "FRIEND".

The Ken Currie Award (Brother Ron Kelly)
 

An Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters’ Association member who has gone above and beyond the normal call of assisting a brother or sister Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters’ Association Member.

Not only does Ron represent the Ottawa Fire Service as a skilled, knowledgeable and professional firefighter, he embodies all the qualities of a true friend that we all want to have.

This is evident in the care and compassion he has shown in helping Brother Steve Butcher through his wife Erica’s illness and unfortunately her passing. Ron went above and beyond in helping the family out including organizing shift coverage for Steve so he could spend his time and energy in caring for Erica and their children.

I believe for these reasons Ron is the perfect candidate for the Ken Currie award.

The Salvation Army National Emergency Disaster Seminar was held here in Ottawa this week at the Delta Hotel.

During the seminar, the Retired Ottawa Firefighters Association was honoured with the sleeves rolled up award.

Accepting the award of behalf of ROFFA were ROFFA members John McCarthy and Don Smith (pictures below)

Thank you to all the ROFFA members who have generously been giving their time to helping others.

Thank you also to all members who have been helping out relentlessly during this flooding disaster currently unfolding.

You all make us very proud of being part of this great organization.

View Original VIDEOS and Article Here

Mississippi rising: Lanark County residents scramble to save homes
 

People living along the Mississippi River west of Ottawa are racing against time to protect their homes from flooding as water levels continue to rise.
 

On Birch Point Lane, just outside Carleton Place, Ont., about a dozen homes on Mississippi Lake were already surrounded by water Tuesday as neighbours raced to fill and stack sandbags in a desperate attempt to prevent further flooding.
 

Hopefully we'll prevail in this, but Mother Nature is strong at the end of the day.- Gerry Townend

Gerry Townend's mother has lived in the area for 30 years. He said this is the worst flooding the family has seen since 1998. 
 

"It is emotional, there's no question ... hopefully we'll prevail in this, but Mother Nature is strong at the end of the day," Townend said.

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Amazingly, we set another attendance record  morning with a total of 155 attendees.

We would like to give a special thanks to our keynote speaker, OPFFA WSIB Chairman Neil McMillan. Neil gave a very informative and eye opening  presentation on PTSD, Cancers and Earing Losses with relation to Firefighters. We will work on getting a videotaped version of his presentation to hopefully post on our website in the near future because we feel  that it would be beneficial to all members including those who were not in attendance.
 

Those who have any questions for Neil may contact him at (613) 371-0669 or email  nmcmillan@ottawafirefighters.org

We would like to thank all of you members who attended today and thank you also to our sponsors Allstate Insurance Kanata, Firehouse Subs, Frontline Financial and Tony Graham Automotive. 

To make the meeting even more enjoyable, our sponsors generously donated some very nice gifts for the draw at the end of the meeting; A $100.00 “The Keg” gift card from Frontline Financial, 12 subs from Firehouse Subs, 3 x $100.00 Visa cash card from Tony Graham Automotive, 2 x $50.00 restaurant gift cards from Allstate Insurance and  we also had 3 x $75.00 prizes from the proceeds of the 50/50 draw.

Thank you also to the Salvation Army and the Ballards Truck’s ROFFA Volunteers who provided all those delicious hamburgers for lunch.

We will provide you with the complete minutes of this very successful meeting in the coming days.

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE >

As thousands diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses, a federal fund set up to help is running out of cash.

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Thomas Wilson rarely left Ground Zero in the dizzying month following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

A New York City police sergeant at the time, Wilson spent his days sifting through the tangled, charred rubble of the World Trade Centre. When night came, he slept for a few hours in one of the makeshift dormitories that sprung up around the site — a fierce sense of duty prevented him from being anywhere else.

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"A job had to be done," he said. "It was the right thing to do."

Wilson counted himself lucky for escaping that day when so many others didn't. But seven years later, 9/11 caught up with him. He was diagnosed with a rare tongue, and later, skin cancer—both of which doctors said were linked to his time spent at Ground Zero.

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Wilson, a father of five, was shocked but not entirely surprised. He remembered the lack of proper protective gear and the metallic odour of the toxic brew of carcinogens that hovered over what he, and other first responders, dubbed "The Pile."

"It just perforated everything," he said.

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Wilson is one of more than 11,000 first responders and survivors who've been diagnosed with a 9/11-related cancer, according to the World Trade Centre Health program, part of the U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

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In 2011, about 60,000 people were registered as having 9/11-related illnesses. By December 2018, that number was higher than 93,000, according to WTC Health Program.

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The growing number has put crippling pressure on the September 11 Victim Compensation fund, set up by the U.S. government to provide financial aid for the sick and the families of those who've died from their illnesses.

Former NYPD sergeant Thomas Wilson was diagnosed with tongue and skin cancer related to his service at Ground Zero following Sept. 11, 2001. (Ellen Mauro/CBC News )

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The fund is running out of money faster than expected and, to ration what's left, future payments are set to be cut by up to 70 per cent — a decrease that could mean undue financial stress, in addition to life-changing health challenges, for people impacted by that awful day.

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"I am painfully aware of the inequity of this situation," the administrator of the fund, Rupa Bhattacharyya said in the fall. "But the stark reality of the data leaves me no choice."

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• U.S. marks 9/11 anniversary with sombre tributes, new monument

• Trump pays tribute to victims in his first 9/11 ceremonies as president
   

Before the cuts were announced, compensation rates for people diagnosed with 9/11-related ailments ranged from $200,000 to $340,000 US, depending on the type of illness and its severity.

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In order to be eligible for compensation, first responders must have been working at Ground Zero and then diagnosed with one of 65 cancers doctors in the WTC program have linked to the aftermath of 9/11.

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'This is a generation-long epidemic'

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Bhattacharyya's announcement prompted a group of 9/11 first responders and their families to travel to Capitol Hill earlier this month to pressure Congress for a fix.

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They appeared with Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Senator and Democratic presidential candidate, as she announced a bipartisan bill that would make the fund — set to expire in 2020 — permanent.

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Doing so would likely render the compensation cuts unnecessary and protect those diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses in the future. But the bill currently does not have enough votes to pass.

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"This is a no-brainer," said John Feal, a leading advocate for 9/11 first responders, whose foot was crushed by a steel beam as he removed debris from Ground Zero.

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"This is an ongoing thing; this is a generation-long epidemic."

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John Feal, whose foot was crushed by a steel beam while he was working at Ground Zero, stands in front of the future site of a memorial for those who've died from 9/11-related illness.  (Ellen Mauro/CBC News )

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And it's only going to get worse, said doctors treating people with 9/11-related conditions.

Some doctors estimate that more people will eventually die of 9/11-related conditions than the nearly 3,000 people who died on the day itself.

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Many of the cancers linked to breathing in toxic air potentially take decades to develop, meaning the scope of the crisis could grow exponentially in the coming years. 

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"It's a huge problem," said Dr. Benjamin Luft, a physician at Stony Brook University Hospital who works with the WTC Health program. "Overall, the amount of suffering that occurs post-trauma far exceeds the amount of trauma that occurs at the time — even though that trauma itself was enormous."

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'We're coming down hat in hand'

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The dire predictions make Feal's work all the more important to him. He's organized lobbying trips to Washington every time the fund has come under threat since it was first created in 2011.

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In 2015, a similar push to make it permanent was quashed by Republican lawmakers concerned over costs.

Instead, Congress gave the fund $7.3 billion US with the 2020 expiration date. Only about $2 billion US remains, with thousands of claims waiting to be processed and more people registering every day.

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"We're coming down hat in hand," said Wilson. "We're begging for our brothers and sisters who are too sick to go and lobby on their own."

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A firefighter walks amid rubble near the base of the destroyed World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. (Peter Morgan/Reuters)

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And with each trip, the frustration grows. Wilson, who is still an active duty police officer, said it's insulting to meet lawmakers who pay lipservice to remembering the attacks but refuse to actually take care of those who were caught in the aftermath of that day.

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"If hypocrisy was a crime in Congress, I'd be locking people up," he said.

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It's a sentiment echoed by fellow first responder, Charles Sullivan, a former NYPD officer. In 2015, Sullivan was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma doctors said was related to working in Lower Manhattan following the attack.

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"Some people might say we're tired of hearing about 9/11, let it go," he said. "I'd love to let it go: if people weren't dying every day."

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The gift that keeps on taking

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It's a reality that Bridget Gormley and Robert Tilearcio Jr. know all too well. Their fathers were New York City firefighters who died prematurely after being diagnosed with 9/11-related cancers. 

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Tilearcio's father travelled to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress in the years before he died of brain cancer in 2017 at age 58. Now Tilearcio Jr. goes in his place.

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Bridget Gormley and Robert Tilearcio Jr. lost their fathers, who were firefighters, to 9/11-related cancer. They both work at a law firm that advocates for those living with illnesses connected to September 11. (Ellen Mauro/CBC News )

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"9/11 is the gift that keeps on taking," he said. "Hopefully those angels watching over us can maybe get into the heads of the people who don't want to vote yes."

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Both Tilearcio and Gormley work at law firm Barasch & McGarry, located just minutes from where the Twin Towers once stood. The firm specializes in advocating for those with 9/11-related illnesses.

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"I lost my father and I'm not going to get him back," Gormley said. "I've come to terms with that, but now I feel like I'm part of something bigger than me. It's cathartic almost."

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Partner Michael Barasch represented both of their fathers before they died. On 9/11, he watched from his office window as the South Tower collapsed.

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"I was like a deer in highlights," he said. "We are some of the same people that you've seen in those famous photographs covered in dust and ash, running up Broadway."

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Lawyer Michael Barasch watched the South Tower of the World Trade Collapse collapse from his office window. He's dedicated his career to helping those with 9/11-related illness.  (Ellen Mauro/CBC News )

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Like Feal, Barasch has made many trips to Washington on his clients' behalf.

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"In many cases, it's the difference between keeping your house and not keeping your house," he said of the compensation cuts. "Congress just didn't set aside enough money for all the people getting sick."

​

Gormley said one of the hardest parts of losing her father was thinking he survived 9/11 — that her family had dodged a terrible fate — only for that day to change his life so many years later. 

​​

"You have survivors who are turning into victims," she said. "Everyone's looking over their shoulder wondering what's going to happen next."

​

Fear of the future
 

Rob Serra lives with that anxiety every day.

​

He was 21 years old on 9/11, his first day on the job as an New York firefighter. His health problems began almost immediately as he suffered with an uncontrollable nosebleed while working at Ground Zero.

​

Other issues followed. Nasal polyps had to be surgically removed, respiratory problems arose, and nerve damage means he sometimes relies on a wheelchair. His downward health spiral forced Serra to retire from the FDNY at just 33.

​

• Obama signs 9/11 benefits bill

• 9/11 first responders fight to keep their health care fund
   

"I feel like the sand is moving a little quicker through the hourglass," he said.

​

Serra now spends his time advocating for the fund. Compared to those waiting for their claims to be processed or the yet-to-be diagnosed, Serra said he's lucky. He received his compensation before the cuts were announced — money to help take care of his young children now that he can no longer work.   

​

But it does little to ease his fear — a fear that stalks so many of 9/11's first responders — that he won't get to see his kids grow up.

​

"I'm hoping to see them go to high school but I don't know," he said. "I can't imagine that I got all these other illnesses so early on and I'm not going to get cancer."

​

We are happy to share OMERS 2018 Report to Members.

Learn more about the progress we are making on our 2020 Strategy and how OMERS is planning for your future.
 

Read OMERS 2018 Report to Members.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Michael Rolland will lead OMERS Sponsors Corporation as CEO on an interim basis. 

​

Known for his high level of integrity, investment track record, genuine interest in people and deep ability to create value for all stakeholders, Michael has driven success across many initiatives over his 20 years at OMERS. He has a deep and unique understanding of the mandates of both the AC and SC Boards, making him the ideal leader for the SC at this critical next stage of its evolution. 

​

Michael’s focus will be to help the Sponsors Corporation Board deliver on its key responsibilities related to plan design, contributions, strategy, stabilization reserves and valuation filing. 

​

In addition to this new role, Michael will retain his position as President and Chief Operating Officer, Asia-Pacific for OMERS – continuing to oversee and direct OMERS operations, business relationships and the growth opportunities in that region.

​

Michael’s transition to leadership of the SC will begin immediately, with an effective date of April 15, allowing for a smooth transition ahead of Paul Harrietha’s retirement from the SC on April 30.

​

It is with sincere enthusiasm and trust that we offer Michael our collective support as he embarks on this expansion of his responsibilities. OMERS is indeed fortunate to have an individual with his variety of experience and ability, and we know you will join us in congratulating Michael and extending your full support.

​

Sincerely,

Frank Ramagnano and Barry Brown

Co-Chairs

A new issue of FIRE FIGHTER QUARTERLY is online.
 

Featuring:

• Fire fighter health and safety, including cancer and behavioural health

• Training opportunities

• Local stories

• Legislative news

• IAFF-FC programs and services

• IAFF-MDA: 65 Years Strong

• Much more!
   

Read it here.

View Original Article

​

When Norm Smith looked in the mirror and saw the rash on his face, he immediately contacted his doctor.

The veteran firefighter had been in the business long enough, and seen enough friends with cancer, to know better than taking any chances.
 

His doctor prescribed cream to burn off what turned out to be basal cell carcinoma, a type of cancer that can typically grow on parts of your skin that get a lot of sun.
 

Smith applied the cream, only to have his skin turn bright red in a familiar pattern — one that perfectly traced the border of the breathing apparatus he wore while firefighting.
 

It spoke volumes about what long-term exposure to toxins was doing to his skin.
 

“It tells me that I was protecting myself (with a breathing apparatus), but something else was going on.”

Where the mask covered his face during fires, there were no basal cancer cells, but where his face was exposed, they turned bright red — graphic evidence of what years of exposure to smoke and toxic gases was doing to his body.
 

It didn’t surprise Smith, who talks of the smell of smoke coming from his skin for days after fires.

“You can scrub and rub all you want, but that is off-gassing of your body, getting rid of those toxins.”
 

Today, Smith, who is a captain at Ottawa Fire Station 56 on Coventry Road, uses a photo of his face during that treatment as part of a presentation he gives to young firefighters. Smith talks about the risk of cancer firefighters face, about getting safety right, about getting proactive medical help. He peppers the talk with jokes, but in truth it’s meant to put a scare into those joining a profession with a long history of cancer and death.
 

Smith thinks for a minute and comes up with 10 names of colleagues in the past 15 years who have died from cancer. Five of them were friends.
 

“We have always taken care of everyone else but ourselves,” he says. “We go out there and we care. We help so many people and we give so much of ourselves and I think we are just starting to look in the mirror and realize, ‘Hey, maybe we should take care of ourselves.’”
 

That, in part, is why Smith, 58, is devoting some of his last months on the job to changing the macho culture of firefighting and giving young firefighters a better chance.
 

His goal? To help change the culture of firefighting into one that embraces safety first.

​

The rash wasn’t the first time Smith had a warning sign about the toll that years of firefighting had taken on his health.
 

On what he says was a whim, he had one day decided to have his blood tested for heavy metals.

The results revealed very high rates of lead and mercury and an alphabet of other heavy metals, from aluminum to uranium.
 

On one hand, Smith wasn’t entirely surprised. “You come out of a fire and you blow your nose and there is black shit there; you know you have taken on some toxins.”
 

On the other hand, he wasn’t prepared to deal with the facts.
 

He put the lab report in a drawer and didn’t tell anyone about it except his doctor. “I was in denial.”

 

The heavy toll the job takes on firefighters has only begun to be fully understood in recent decades.

Some Ottawa firefighters who developed cancer on the job helped lead the battle to have “presumptive” legislation created in Ontario.
 

As a result of pressure from those and other firefighters, this province now recognizes 17 types of cancer as being job related for firefighters, meaning it is presumed they developed cancer on the job.
 

Groundbreaking research from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health completed in 2015 confirmed firefighters have an increased risk of being diagnosed with and dying from cancer, something most firefighters know all too well.
 

More recent research, including a 2017 study done by the Ottawa Fire Service and Jennifer Keir, a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, highlighted the fact that toxins are absorbed by firefighters not just through their lungs — but through their skin.
 

Ottawa is ahead of many fire departments when it comes to understanding how to mitigate the threats through careful decontamination practices, but change is still slow.
 

And that is where Smith and other advocates in a program called From Knowledge to Practice, come in.

​

The Ottawa Fire Service is developing best practices for how firefighters should decontaminate themselves and their equipment after a fire. It is sharing its research and innovation with fire services around the world — including those in New York City and Boston.
 

“We want to be the leaders worldwide in applying the latest research to firefighting,” says Deputy Chief Sean Tracey.
 

What that means is treating everything touched by fire and smoke as hazardous material and taking every precaution to contain it.
 

“The controls we put into place are the same controls you use for a pandemic,” said Peter McBride, division chief for safety and innovation at the Ottawa Fire Service.
 

Under procedures being developed by Ottawa’s fire service, firefighters wash and change out of dirty bunker gear (the outerwear worn by firefighters) at the scene and put on white disposable coveralls. They place all contaminated clothing in bags and store them in the back of the fire truck before heading back to the station.
 

“You put on your paper mask and plastic gloves and then take your clothes off, like it was Ebola,” says McBride, who encourages firefighters to think of the residue on their clothing, equipment and skin as if it contained feces or a deadly virus.
 

Equipment is also washed at the scene. The fire service is in the process of getting a second set of bunker gear for firefighters so they always have a clean one while the other is being decontaminated.
 

The procedures mean leaving contaminants, as much as possible, at the scene.

“They don’t get into the truck anymore with dirty gear,” McBride says.

Ottawa’s procedures, he said, are being studied by fire services all over the world.

​

The more firefighting officials understand about the potential risks that come with the job, the more questions are raised about how best to mitigate those risks and reduce the high rates of cancer among firefighters.

That is the focus of some of the research University of Ottawa researcher Keir and the Ottawa Fire Service have underway.
 

They are comparing decontamination methods on firefighters using soap and water, and various wipes that are being marketed to help reduce the absorption of toxins through the skin in order to understand what works best.
 

Ottawa’s standards to protect firefighters also include annual facial fittings of their breathing apparatus. There was a time when firefighters took off their breathing apparatus once the active fire was controlled, notes McBride. They now know the atmosphere after the fire is controlled is more dangerous.
 

While contamination through breathing is now tightly controlled, there is work to be done when it comes to reducing and preventing “whole body exposure,” McBride said.
 

“Your skin is your biggest organ. That wasn’t well understood as a route of entry. These materials get deposited on the skin and that results in contact exposure.”
 

That is why Ottawa is so focused on reducing skin contamination and mitigating that risk with the goal of reducing cancer risk.
 

“There is really an epidemic in the fire services. Almost everyone would know someone who has had cancer.”

That is why, said McBride, “We drill it in to them.”

​

“The controls we put into place are all the same controls you use for a pandemic. These are toxins. Let’s deal with them in a way that you don’t get infected.”
 

Part of that is convincing firefighters to take hygiene and protection seriously.
 

Smith takes issue with romantic notions of firefighters as soot-stained heroes and encourages young firefighters to become experts in industrial hygiene instead.
 

Smith finishes demonstrating the slide show he gives to young firefighters and other groups.

“I always tell the guys, ‘This is for us, knuckleheads. We have got to smarten up.’”
 

At the end of his presentation, Smith plays a video made by Boston firefighters in which they post pictures of the members who have died of cancer — nearly 200 since 1990 — on a wall.
 

As the video begins to play, Smith gets up suddenly from the chair in his day room.

“I have to leave the room. This is too hard.”

View Original Article

​

Jim Andrews remembers the day his doctor phoned with the news.

​

He was in his mid-30s at the time, a career firefighter, married with two children. He had joined the former City of Nepean’s fire department when he was 23 years old.

​

Early in 2001, his wife noticed a mole on Andrews’ chest that didn’t look right. His doctor tested it, but didn’t seem too concerned.

​

And then Andrews got the phone call.

​

As he listened, he wrote the word “malignant” on the blackboard in his family’s kitchen. He heard his wife start to cry.

​

With his diagnosis of malignant melanoma, Andrews became one of a band of brothers within the fire department — the so-called Nepean cluster.

​

Five firefighters, all of whom had worked at Viewmount fire station in Nepean, were diagnosed with cancer around the same time. Two of the firefighters developed brain cancer, one had colon cancer, one had liver cancer and Andrews was diagnosed with melanoma.

​

People began asking what was going on.

​

“At the time, heart disease was the No. 1 concern (for firefighters), and we weren’t seeing that. We were seeing lots of cancers,” Andrews said.

​

Today, he is the only surviving member of that group of five firefighters. He was the lucky one. And the experience would help shape his career in firefighting.

​

Andrews saw his four colleagues die from cancer. He attended their funerals; he folded flags to present to grieving families. Every year, he marches in the memorial to local firefighters, thinking about his former colleagues, he says.

​

“It is to make sure that their sacrifice is remembered and the lessons learned. We need to remember that so hopefully we don’t continue to repeat these things.”

​

Now 52, Andrews is sector chief in charge of a part of rural Ottawa with the Ottawa Fire Service. His cancer, which was caught early with the “best possible prognosis,” has long been in remission.

​

His own experience and that of his colleagues has given his career a focus on preventing exposure to the dangers that can make firefighters sick.

​

“I wouldn’t have changed my career or anything, but you start to think ‘What could I have done to reduce my risk?’”

​

In the early 2000s, firefighters were becoming more aware “of the chemical soup we are stepping into in a fire,” said Andrews. Only later — with the help of firefighters across the province, including Armstrong and members of the Nepean cluster — would cancers be recognized in Ontario as work-related.

​

Mark Johnston, who worked alongside Andrews in the Nepean fire department, became the face of the battle to get so-called presumptive legislation in place for Ontario firefighters.

​

Johnston died of colon cancer in 2006, one year before Ontario changed its labour laws to make it easier for firefighters to qualify for compensation for job-related cancer and heart attacks.

​

Another former Viewmount firefighter, Pat Thibobeau, died of brain cancer in April 2006, the same month as Johnston.

​

“When you start going to more and more funerals, you start wondering what is going on,” said Andrews.

Malignant melanoma is among 17 cancers recognized as being job-related for firefighters in Ontario (based on their length of service.)

​

While there is better understanding of the risks firefighters face when it comes to cancer, there has never been any conclusive evidence explaining the Nepean cluster of cancer cases. An environmental assessment done at Viewmount station was inconclusive.

​

But it is well understood that firefighters face an increased risk of many types of cancers and there are steps that can be taken to reduce those risks.

​

Work done by the Ottawa Fire Service along with University of Ottawa researcher Jennifer Keir and other researchers has increased the understanding of how toxins are absorbed not only through the lungs, but through firefighters’ skin and how that risk can be mitigated.

​

The Ottawa Fire Services is a leader when it comes to policies aimed at protecting firefighters from the chemicals and the smoke, such as removing, washing and bagging bunker gear and equipment at the scene. Andrews makes sure people understand why mitigation is crucial, and that means not just following procedure but following it correctly.

​

“That is where I have invested my energy, into getting the message out and making sure people understand that, yes, what we do is dangerous, but there are things we can do to limit our exposure at the time.”

When Andrews began his career, firefighters slept with boots and pants beside their beds for speed when a call came in.

​

Now, research and data has shown that exposure to dirty gear is among the key dangers.

​

Andrews recalls a time when you could walk into a fire station and know not just that there had been a fire, but what kind of fire it was — a pot on the stove, a house fire or brush fire — just by the smell in the station because dirty equipment and clothing was brought back after a fire without cleaning. That has changed.

“You are still getting an essence at the station, but not nearly what it used to be.”

​

Although firefighters are still getting exposed, he says, the aim is to mitigate that exposure as much as possible.

​

Andrews has no regrets about his career. When asked recently whether he would do it again, knowing what he knows, he said yes “in a heartbeat.”

​

But when he hires new volunteer firefighters to serve in rural Ottawa, he makes sure they not only understand the risks but are able to protect themselves.

​

“I know what the risks are. I don’t have an excuse for not supporting them and making sure they have all of the tools at hand.”

To all OFS Members (active and retired),

Congratulations to all members who received awards this past Monday.  For information purposes, I am attaching a link to the Canadian Legion site which lists the names of businesses who mount medals. 

This process is called 'court mounting' and will take your medal(s) and place them on a hard board with pins for easy placement on your tunic.  Every medal issued comes with an extra piece of material which is used to make the ribbon bar (also known as undress ribbon) which can be worn on dress uniforms (shirt or tunic) in a less formal environment where full medals are not warranted.  Please refer to our SOP on Uniforms to learn more about placement of medals.

Regards,

Bob Rainboth

Protocol Officer, OFS

613-880-3473

View Original Article

​

A familiar face has been tapped to be Ottawa’s new fire chief.

​

After a nationwide search for a leader to replace Chief Gerry Pingitore, who retired in April, the city settled on a candidate close to home in Kim Ayotte, Mayor Jim Watson announced at Wednesday’s council meeting.

​

Ayotte has been serving as interim fire chief since Pingitore’s retirement.

​

City council and staff greeted the announcement with a standing ovation for Ayotte, who is fluently bilingual and has nearly 30 years experience as a firefighter.

​

For the past 15 years, Ayotte has been a member of the Ottawa Fire Services’ management team and served as deputy chief.

​

Ayotte also brings an extensive list of credentials, including a masters certificate in municipal leadership and a professional designation of executive chief fire officer with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.

View Original Article

​

A familiar face has been tapped to be Ottawa’s new fire chief.

​

After a nationwide search for a leader to replace Chief Gerry Pingitore, who retired in April, the city settled on a candidate close to home in Kim Ayotte, Mayor Jim Watson announced at Wednesday’s council meeting.

​

Ayotte has been serving as interim fire chief since Pingitore’s retirement.

​

City council and staff greeted the announcement with a standing ovation for Ayotte, who is fluently bilingual and has nearly 30 years experience as a firefighter.

​

For the past 15 years, Ayotte has been a member of the Ottawa Fire Services’ management team and served as deputy chief.

​

Ayotte also brings an extensive list of credentials, including a masters certificate in municipal leadership and a professional designation of executive chief fire officer with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.

View Original Article

​

Generator outside Coventry Road station caught fire Friday afternoon

​

Ottawa firefighters didn't have to go far to douse a small blaze in Overbrook Friday. 

​

A generator outside Fire Station 56 at 275 Coventry Rd. caught fire just after 12:30 p.m.

​

The station is located near Vanier Parkway, across from RCGT Park baseball stadium.

​

No one was injured and the fire was declared under control within 20 minutes.

View Original Article

CREW OF PUMPER 323 TRY TO PROCESS THE TRAGEDY IN TORONTO’S GREEKTOWN

​

The alarm started as quiet beeps then louder ones, a kind of staccato thump like a heartbeat through the firehall. It was a cue, for the firefighters watching Shark Week on Sunday night, to listen for dispatch. A voice came through the speakers after the alarm stopped:

​

“Pumper 323, respond. Medical. Crime-related. 484 Danforth.”

​

The four-man crew for Pumper 323, stationed a few blocks off Danforth Avenue in Toronto’s Greektown, pulled on their bunker pants. Steve Tombs, the driver, stopped at the alarm room on his way to the garage and grabbed a printout with more information from dispatch. He read it and called out to the others: “Gunshots.”

It didn’t make much sense. All four knew the address, 484 Danforth, as the fountain — the centre of a little cobblestone square surrounded by Greek restaurants and coffee shops with awnings stretching over patios. The crew go by there most days, waving at kids, to get their groceries at the two competing vegetable markets beside the square — careful not to show a preference for one over the other while in uniform. It’s a place where old men from the neighbourhood drink coffee on stone benches.

​

“We just thought there’s no way,” said Matthew Spagnolo, who’s been at the station off Danforth for a decade. It was more likely some kid lit off a Roman candle and spooked the crowd, he thought.

In the truck, Spagnolo and Tony Buonfiglio put on latex gloves in the back. Up front, the crew’s captain, Jim Mechano, read updates on the computer. It showed multiple people shot, possibly 10 to 15. The shooter, it said, fled west down Danforth.

​

They started hearing sirens, then police cruisers roaring past them on Danforth as if their fire truck was standing still.

​

“That’s when we all decided, ‘OK this is for real,’ ” Buonfiglio said.

​

At that point, Pumper 323 was the only one en route to the scene. Cpt. Mechano called into his radio:

“Dispatch another pumper.”

​

Two days after the shooting, Tony Buonfiglio brought his four-year-old son to the fountain.

“I just wanted to see it normal,” he said.

​

“Having grown up in that neighbourhood, I don’t know, I thought it might have made me feel better, being there with somebody that gives me the most incredible feeling I’ ve ever had in my life—my little guy.”

It didn’t help much. Buonfiglio, 46, responded to that call by chance. He doesn’t normally work with Pumper 323, but was filling in for one of the regulars.

​

He spent his childhood living just off Danforth. His mom still lives there. His aunt’s house is up the road from the fountain. Buonfiglio didn’t tell his son why they were going to the fountain or what happened there two days earlier — for the boy, it was just a walk through the square and a visit with grandma. But for Buonfiglio, looking at the square now, he was still seeing it, thinking how there were victims right here, over there.

“This one is weighing more than heavy,” he said. “It’s a stain.”

​

In the days after, he was watching the news, piecing it all together, realizing he was doing CPR on a young woman, with no idea that at the same time the gunman — identified as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain — was still walking down Danforth, still shooting. The wind and the sirens must have muffled the sound of gunshots three or four blocks away.

​

As their truck pulled up to the square, Spagnolo turned to Buonfiglio in the back seat. “We’re together,” he told him.

​

People were screaming, running around, some filming on their phones. One woman was looking around the square, calling out her daughter’s name over and over.

​

Mechano scanned around, trying to count the victims. He saw three men at the curb by the fire truck, all with gunshot wounds in their legs. But at least one civilian was helping each man. They were conscious and they had good colour in their faces and not much blood coming from their wounds. They could wait, because farther, by the west edge of the square, a woman was lying by a honey locust tree.

​

Mechano could see two men performing CPR on the woman. One was doing chest compressions while the other was putting pressure on the wound in her abdomen. “Once you see CPR being done on a gunshot victim,” he said, “you know the chances of survival aren’t too good.”

​

He told Spagnolo and Buonfiglio to go to her. Then he radioed in to dispatch.

​

“How many ambulances are coming?” he asked. “One.”

​

“Send me three more.” As Buonfiglio and Spagnolo moved across the square, a man stopped them. He said he was a doctor. He said the girl by the tree didn’t haveapulse.

​

When they got to her, she was unconscious. Buonfiglio and Spagnolo thanked the two men helping her.

“Did you guys see what happened?” Spagnolo asked them.

​

All they could say was she’d been shot several times. There was a cellphone lying beside her, ringing. They didn’t know whose it was; they assumed it was hers.

​

Buonfiglio started compressions while Spagnolo opened the defibrillator. Usually, to apply the defibrillator pads to the chest, they’ll use their shears to cut off the patient’s shirt first.

​

“But you’re out in public,” Buonfiglio said, “and there was no way I was going to take away any more of her dignity.”

​

Her name was Reese Fallon, they found out later. She was 18, just finished high school and headed to McMaster University in the fall to study nursing.

​

They managed to apply the pads without using the shears. From there, the defibrillator machine assessed the heartbeat and gave instructions on whether to give a shock or not. There needed to be a heartbeat for there to be a shock.

​

“No shock,” it said. So they continued with chest compressions and breaths. The phone was still ringing beside her.

​

They kept going — more compressions, more breaths. They’d done three rounds by the time a paramedic arrived.

​

Spagnolo and Buonfiglio plugged their defibrillator pads into the paramedic’s more sophisticated machine and continued.

​

The paramedic watched the feedback on the machine, talking on the phone to a doctor at their base hospital. The CPR wasn’t working, wasn’t bringing her back. It was up to the doctor to decide whether they kept going.

“We continue until we’re told to stop,” Buonfiglio said.

​

After another round of CPR, the machine still wasn’t registering a heartbeat. The phone was still buzzing.

“It was ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing,” Spagnolo said. “Vibrating, dancing on the sidewalk right off the curb.”

​

“Someone was looking for her,” Buonfiglio said.

​

“I have a daughter,” Spagnolo said. “It made what was happening there, like, too real and too relatable.”

After 10 or 12 minutes, the doctor at the hospital made the call to stop CPR. Spagnolo saw it coming. A police officer came by and asked if Spagnolo and Buonfiglio needed anything.

​

“Yeah,” Spagnolo said. “We need a sheet.”

“In my mind I knew we owed her the dignity.”

​

The two of them stood up and saw what looked like little gold thimbles, five or six of them. There was a rectangular piece of metal there too. Looking at them, they realized they’d been kneeling around bullet casings and an ammunition clip.

​

On Wednesday night, there was a vigil at the fountain. Hundreds of people walked from where the gunman died, near Bowden Street, down the middle of Danforth four or five blocks to the square where the shooting started. As the sun dropped down, two teenagers from the neighbourhood got up on stage and played Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Some women joined in and by the chorus it felt like the whole square was singing, hundreds of them, packed together and spilling out into the street.

​

The crew from Pumper 323 was there. It was their first shift back. Buonfiglio said he wanted to be there, “standing and letting people know that there are more good people than bad.”

​

They stood there, metres away from that honey locust tree, as people milled around the square and filed out after the vigil. Back at the firehall, the four of them sat at their long, white kitchen table and talked.

“There’s certain things that will stick in your head,” Spagnolo said. For him, and Buonfiglio, it was the cellphone ringing, with someone on the other end trying to find out if Reese Fallon was OK.

Buonfiglio face tightened, pushing back tears.

​

“Reese wasn’t alone,” he said.

​

“She wasn’t alone,” Spagnolo repeated. “She wasn’t neglected. She had every resource.”

“We care. We care, man,” Buonfiglio said. “We care.” He says it again and again, trailing off.

“That day,” he said, “Reese needed our help and unfortunately I feel like I ...”

​

Mechano broke in, staring across the table at him.

​

“You did everything you could,” he said firmly. “You did. Both of yous did. There was nothing else you could have done. So don’t dare, for one minute, think you didn’t do enough. Not for one minute.” A police officer told Spagnolo and Buonfiglio to leave their defibrillator where it was, attached to the young woman’s body. It was now a crime scene. They went back to the truck to get new gloves.

​

Mechano was at the truck when they got there, keeping dispatchers updated on what washappening.

Spagnolo told Mechano he could reach him on his cell, since there was so much traffic on the radio. “We’re just going to go help as many people as possible,” he said.

​

They heard there was somebody wounded in Christina’s, a restaurant a few doors down from the square. There was a woman, maybe in her 30s, with a gunshot wound in her hip. Another set of firefighters was already with her. When Buonfiglio and Spagnolo arrived, they helped pull her out on a stretcher and into an ambulance.

​

They saw Steve Tombs, the fire truck driver, on a patio nearby. He was with a man who was slumped over with a gunshot to his side. The man’s wife was there too, and a dentist who bandaged the wound. Tombs could tell the man was scared.

​

“Don’t worry buddy, I’m not going to leave you,” Tombs told him.

​

He and the dentist cleared the scattered tables and chairs from the patio to make way for a stretcher. As the ambulance arrived, a captain from one of the other fire crews walked by and Tombs could hear his radio. Someone was saying there had been another shooting west on Danforth.

​

“A little more of the worry set in my head, like, ‘Oh, this isn’t over yet.’ ”

​

Until then, the crew thought the fountain was the main scene — maybe a targeted shooting that hit a slew of innocent bystanders.

​

“There’s got to be someone here that was an intended target,” Spagnolo remembered thinking. “Is someone going to come back around and finish the job?”

​

Tombs, back together with Spagnolo and Buonfiglio, went to Alexandros, a gyros place facing the square, to check in on two young firefighters who were tending to a man who was shot in the leg.

​

Buonfiglio pulled off the man’s shoe and pressed on his toenail until it turned white, watching to see if the blood flowed back into the nail, as it should — “to make sure that his leg wasn’t dying in front of us,” he said. Buonfiglio gave a thumbs-up to the young firefighters.

​

It had been roughly half an hour since Pumper 323 arrived on scene. Police with high-powered rifles — some in street clothes, others in uniform — were running up and down Danforth now. One officer guarded every storefront.

​

Tombs told the other two

IS SOMEONE GOING TO COME BACK AROUND AND FINISH THE JOB?

what he’d overheard on the radio: There was another shooting at 400 Danforth, a few blocks west. It was Caffe Demetre.

​

“We’re going west,” they told Mechano. “Call us if you need us.”

​

The three firefighters went to see if they could help. They walked in the middle of the street, alone accept for rushing police officers. There was vomit in the street. The patios were empty, with scattered purses and jackets. Tables were knocked over; others still had plates with half-eaten meals and half-drunk wine glasses. People were huddled in the restaurants, waiting for police to escort them away.

​

“There’s bullet holes in the bank. There’s bullet holes in Second Cup. There’s bullet holes in parked cars,” Spagnolo said.

​

“Apocalyptic,’” he said. “We’re going, ‘This is insane … What the hell is going on here?’”

Another crew was pulling a man out of Caffe Demetre on a stretcher when the three from Pumper 323 got there.

​

“Is there anything we can do?” they asked the other fire crew.

“Nope, we’re just getting this guy out of here right now.”

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After the man left in an ambulance, the crew from Pumper 323 started talking with other firefighters who’d been called to the café.

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“They’re kinda like, ‘Holy s--- did you hear what happened down here?’ And ‘We’re like, yeah holy s--- did you hear what happened down there?’” Spagnolo said.

“You kind of start piecing it all together.”

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“You realize,” Buonfiglio said, “Oh my God, this is one big f------ scene.”

Nearby, a long line of police tape, SUVs and parked cruisers blocked off an intersection at Bowden Street. Peering over barricades, Spagnolo could make out a body beneath a green tarp, lying in front of a church on Danforth.

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Officers were standing around in clumps, chatting. Spagnolo relaxed a bit, seeing guys from the Emergency Task Force idle like that. He and the two others from Pumper 323 walked back to the truck and Mechano, back again down the middle of Danforth Avenue.

“It was surreal,” Spagnolo said.

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People who had been locked down in restaurants and cafés were being escorted out in single-file lines, with an armed officer at the front and another at the back.

Back at the square, the firefighters waited for clearance from police to pull their trucks out. The crews from Pumpers 322 and 324 were milling around.

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“Guys,” Spagnolo said, walking up to them. “Whatever happened, the shooter’s dead.

“We think it’s over.”

We are pleased to inform you that we have agreed to work with the Ottawa Fire Leadership Team to develop a fundraising initiative that will afford all OFS personnel active and retired the opportunity to purchase an OFS golf shirt should you wish. The link below allows you to order the golf shirt in a variety of colours and sizes for $49.55 each plus tax with $5.00 from the sale of each shirt going towards the Ottawa Fallen Firefighters memorial fund. Ordering will be available initially for a two month period. Please note that the ordering website is password protected so you will need to enter the code OFS2018 in order to get access to order the shirts online. If you have any questions regarding sizing etc please contact the supplier directly. Please also note that these shirts do not form part of the OFS approved uniform so they are not to be worn on-duty or at official OFS functions where it is expected that personnel be in uniform.

https://pro2coluniforms.com/collections/ofs-golf

Thanks for supporting this great fundraising event.

Fire Prevention Canada is looking for Directors and Sponsors.

The federal government has cut funding to FPC which has impacted its ability to initiate new projects, thus the need for sponsors.

Due to either age or ill health of the remaining board members, younger directors are needed to carry on.

FPC is a national voice for fire prevention in Canada and could have a forum where fire prevention bureaus could post concerns or findings regarding fire safety and prevention. 

ROFFA member Mike Woodley is a former director, he is presently involved withfundraising efforts for FPC and he helps at the launch of Fire Prevention Week for the reading of the Governor General’s Proclamation.

If you are interested in volunteering or know of a business that would like to sponsor a worthwhile organization, please contact Mike Woodleymikewoodley555@aol.com

Many of our members have had the good fortune to attend the Ottawa-Carleton Pensioners Association Christmas Party for the past several years.

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Unfortunately, some untimely deaths of key members of this organization leave them unable to continue to organize this event.
 

ROFFA member Don Band took up the challenge and has put together a committee to ensure that this incredible event can continue with the support of ROFFA.

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This event is open to all members of the OCPA, ROFFA, active members of Ottawa Fire Services as well as any of your friends who would like to take part in this wonderful pre-christmas event.

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Reserve the date and order your tickets early!

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December 12, 2018 at the RA Centre on Riverside Drive. Doors open at 11:00 and lunch will served at 12:30.

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Tickets will be available from any members of the organizing committee or at Frontline Financial Credit Union on Richmond Road.
 

To order tickets or reserve a table for your group contact: Neil Warren 613 699-1242 or neilscottwarren@gmail.com ... and your request for tickets will be forwarded to the closest Board Member to arrange payment and delivery.

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Payment and ticket arrangements can always be made directly at Frontline Financial Credit Union .. but .. table reservations must be made by contacting Neil Warren.

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Tickets must be ordered and paid for prior to the event and refunds will only be available up to December 5th, 2018.
 

Board Members with tickets  ($35 per ticket):

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Don Band, Pierre Potvin, Neil Warren, Ed Honey, Bill Rennick, Denis St. Denis, Wib Paul

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Ticket sales start June 16, 2018.

The OMERS Sponsors Corporation is currently conducting a review of the OMERS pension

plan benefits structure with a view to ensuring that the plan remains sustainable and affordable

into the future. The “OMERS Comprehensive Plan Review” is to be completed in 2018 and the purpose, as stated by the OMERS Sponsors Corporation, is to:

• model the Plan’s long-term financial health;

• explore the full suite of possible risk mitigation and management strategies available to us; and

• fully assess what members, employers and sponsors really want and need from the OMERS Plan – today and in the future.

CUPE Ontario has started a social media campaign designed to discourage the OMERS Sponsors Corporation board members from considering certain changes to the pension plan, in particular the use of conditional indexation. We believe that this campaign is premature and prefer to wait to see the outcome of the Comprehensive Plan Review before deciding if a response is required.

We ask OPFFA members not to participate in any lobby campaigns regarding the OMERS Comprehensive Plan Review at this time and to wait for further information. We are well represented on the OMERS SC  Board that is responsible for Plan Design. Frank Ramagnano, the President of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association, is the Co-Chair of the OMERS SC Board and the longest serving Employee Representative. He has kept the OPFFA Board informed, we have been attending the various OMERS meetings on this matter, and our Pension Chair Chris Varcoe has been engaged.

The OPFFA has also met with the Police Association of Ontario, as we have worked quite well together on the pension file. We do not see that changing and they agree with the review of the plan to establish whether we need to reinforce the plan in order to continue to provide meaningful benefits for members for generations to come.

Under the terms of its formal mandate, the Sponsors Corporation (SC) has an obligation to regularly assess the financial health of the OMERS Plans and to propose changes as appropriate. As clearly articulated on the SC website (www.omerssc.com), the SC is “solely responsible for determining benefit levels and contribution rates for the Plans.”

The Comprehensive Plan Review is a simple manifestation of this essential mandate. Given the lingering funding challenges, the SC Board has been working over the past number of years to assess ways to manage the Plan’s future financial health – while recognizing the differing needs and expectations of various stakeholders, including members. This robust and ongoing analysis culminated in 2016 with the proposed development of Modified Inflation Indexing (MI2), an innovative approach to conditional indexing that would give the SC greater flexibility to manage future funding risks. It was a proposal that was raised by our representative. Board members wanted to view all aspects of the proposal, which resulted in the review.

In September 2017, the SC retained an independent actuarial adviser to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the OMERS Plan – using advanced systems and software applications – to model, on a stochastic basis, the projected implications of various potential plan changes under a range of evolving economic and financial circumstances. Their robust modelling clearly confirms that, given the outlined challenges, there is a strong likelihood that the cost of the existing Plan design will increase beyond current levels – and well beyond under certain scenarios. Put another way, future OMERS members could end up paying more for less if adjustments aren’t made. 

It is also important to note that changes to benefits can only be made to the service period accumulate after the change. We are getting called from members close to retirement enquiring if they need to alter their retirement date. Changes would impact them the least as they have earned all the benefits to date.

Again, it appears that the Plan, while performing well in the short term, needs to be protected against challenges that will likely occur in the future. The OPFFA does not foreclose the idea of restructuring the benefit promise in order to ensure the long-term health of the plan. We would have great difficulty, however, supporting measures that were not designed to only impact members to the degree necessary to protect the plan. Any possibility of reduction in benefit levels must be integrated into a broader strategy that ensures that benefits are returned at the earliest opportunity and a well-performing plan has, as its first priority, the repayment of benefits to those members who sacrificed in the short term. In addition, changes must be structured in a way that distributes the responsibility for protecting the plan across all sponsors, equitably.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly.

In solidarity,

Rob Hyndman

President

Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association

rhyndman@ontariofirefighters.org

Original article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/first-responders-ottawa-suicide-prevention-1.4652747

Peer and family support groups for Ottawa first responders held their first suicide prevention workshop for people connected with all three emergency services.

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The Monday night panel discussion was in part organized in response to a body of research that found police, firefighters and paramedics have a higher rate of suicide than the general population, according to Lorraine Downey, co-ordinator of the Ottawa Paramedic Peer Support Group.

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• First Canada-wide study of first responders suggests much higher frequency of mental disorders
   

• First responders living with PTSD say money and awareness is helping
   

"All of us in the first responder community have lost friends and peers to suicide and we're really trying to prevent that from moving forward," Downey said.
 

"We tend to be the ones to help people, we don't tend to be the ones to ask for help. So we're looking to change that stigma."

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Ottawa Fire Services deputy chief Sean Tracey said peer support groups are among the best ways to reach out to first responders to get them the help they need.
 

"Firefighters, police officers, paramedics … that are brothers and sisters of those people on the job can provide them support, assistance, let them know they are not alone with those depressing thoughts," Tracey said.

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Providing family resources

Jocelyn Bond, whose husband is a police officer, started the First Responder Family Resiliency Support Group because of her husband's experience with post-traumatic stress.
 

Bond said there were signs her husband wasn't well earlier but she didn't know how to identify them — such as a shorter temper and sleep deprivation.
 

The objective of the support group is to give family members the tools and resources to support first responders and help identify and address the symptoms of stress injuries, she said.
 

"I felt very alone as a spouse, I felt like I was the only one," she said. "I felt like I could go to my friends and family and tell them what was going on, [and] like they wouldn't understand the symptoms I was living with in my spouse."
 

"My husband did have a suicide note in his locker. Luckily, he didn't follow through on that," she said.

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Dana Tapak, another member of the support group, is married to a firefighter who developed PTSD while serving with the armed forces in Rwanda.
 

Tapak said she and her husband talk about his calls to help process the stress. She said spouses need to be equipped with how to handle information to avoid second-hand stress.
 

"I like to know if he's affected by the call, but I don't need to know all of the grime and the gruesomeness," she said.
 

Organizers say Monday's event at Ben Franklin Place was the first of a series to cross the barriers between services and help build connections on mental health issues.
 

Need help? Here are some mental health resources in the National Capital Region:

• Association québécoise de prévention du suicide: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)

• Ottawa Suicide Prevention: 613-238-3311

A new ROFFA Committee on Visitation and Honour Guards is being formed to lend assistance and encouragement to Fire Fighters and their partners who need help during troubled times in their lives.

The Honour Guards are an important function of the Fire Service and many families ask for their loved ones to have this service provided.

The Fire Service is having staffing issues which makes this difficult at times. Providing an apparatus can be often difficult according to the OFS Protocol Officer. Due to this we are asking retired members to step forward and help out. We will also be contacting the Bytown Brigade to provide apparatus from time to time.

The principals of the Visitation Committee are based somewhat on those of the International Order of Oddfellows.
 

“It is an Oddfellow who puts another's welfare ahead of his own.’
 

Odd Fellowship developed ancient admonishments including:

“Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”

This is just the initial foundation of what we are trying to build into ROFFA we are looking for members who are interested and members’ ideas on how to build a committee worthy of our Organizations goals.

If you have an interest please let us know.