Annual memorial remembers Kitchener’s fallen firefighters

Kitchener is remembering its fallen firefighters Sept. 29 with a parade and ceremony, its 20th annual memorial celebration.

The memorial parade starts from Civic Centre Park at 101 Queen St. in Kitchener, running from Frederick St. down to the Cenotaph on Duke St., then back down to Queen St. and back to the park. A ceremony will take place shortly after around 11:10 a.m. that will honour fallen firefighters who lived, served and sacrificed for their community.

Members of Kitchener’s Fire Department are hosting the ceremony alongside The Kitchener Professional Firefighters Association. Kitchener’s mayor and members of council are set to attend.

Dave Vaux, a First Class firefighter in Kitchener, was at the first memorial in 2004 and has gone ever since. He was on the Mike Farwell Show this week to talk about how important the memorial is to local firefighters.

“We’ll lay flowers, the family members of our fallen always come out to this memorial and lay flowers on their family’s behalf. It’s a very somber memorial but its very important to remember our members who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Vaux said.

“I just find its very important to never forget our fallen, and especially to the family members who have lost so much, to be able to tell them we will never forget them and we’re going to continue to strive to serve our community and be the best that we can.”

The public is invited to attend the parade or ceremony.

“When you go out on a call, you never know what you are going to see, but you always know someone is there, right behind you to support you,” Vaux explained. “The memorial became very important to me because last year we laid a flower for a firefighter I worked very close with for years. It’s that added importance to protect ourselves and remember these guys.”