Member Profile on Glen Villa

Member Profile

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Glen Villa was born in downtown Toronto in February of 1986. His parents left their hometown of Medellín, Colombia, in the late ‘70s due to the rising violence that plagued the streets during the cartel wars. They moved to Canada with hopes of finding a better life for their future kids.

Glen’s path to firefighting can be traced back as early as grade 10. Glen was in class when news broke of the 911 attacks. He witnessed his teacher crying, while he and his class watched on the news as airplanes flew into the towers and the Pentagon. At the time, it was hard to fathom what was going on. As the days passed, he paid close attention to the stories of heroism and sacrifice that emerged from that grim day. Unbeknownst to him at the time, those events would change the direction of his life forever. Glen says, “I believe that in our profession, this is known as the calling.” Shortly after this experience, he applied for a 13-week Co-op with Brampton Fire and Emergency Services. “Back then, as a co-op student, you actually rode the trucks and participated in the calls. My very first call was a live hanging, and I was asked to hold

BY TONY MACDONALD, RETIRED TORONTO FIRE CAPTAIN

the patients’ legs while a firefighter cut the rope supporting him. We were able to save a life that day, and at the young age of 17, I knew immediately that I had found my purpose.”

During his co-op, he remembers some sage advice that was given to him by a firefighter. “When you graduate from fire school, there’s going to be 3000 other guys with the same piece of paper you have. It’s up to you to distinguish yourself.” With those words and the vivid memories of 9-11 resounding in his mind, on March 3rd of 2006, he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces.

He began the first six years of his military career with the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and was posted to Shilo, Manitoba. At the age of 22, he deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a machine-gunner with the battle group on task force 1-08. Tasked with patrolling the PanjwayiZhari district, which sustained some of the heaviest fighting throughout the war, each day was a battle for survival. “The beginning of the tour was pretty quiet, and there were only a few gunfights and road-side bombs. Once the fighting season kicked in, we were engaged in combat almost daily. One of the most valuable skills I gained was in becoming a specialist in organizing chaos. The fighting season was long, and towards the end of the tour, 22 of my colleagues had already been killed. At times I was really questioning if I was going to make it home or not. In one instance, my Captain was shot and killed right beside me in battle. That experience weighed heavily on me for years to come, but eventually, I was able to spin it into positive energy that I channelled towards helping others and supporting mental health initiatives and fundraisers.” Despite dodging death numerous times, he says he gained an appreciation for life in Canada, and a perspective on our world that he wouldn’t have otherwise attained.

Some of his military highlights include: - Representing his unit twice in Normandy, for the commemoration of the 70th, and 75th anniversary of D-Day. - Training with a multinational brigade in Galicia, Spain. - Providing security for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics at Whistler. - Deploying domestically to the hard-hit areas of the Manitoba floods in 2011. - 14 static line jumps as a paratrooper In 2012, he completed his full-time contract with the military and moved back to Toronto, where he has continued to serve with the reserves for almost eight years. “Coming home was bittersweet, I was happy to be back, but it quickly became a low point in my life. I had lost my sense of purpose. When I was deployed overseas, I was halfway around the world, representing the will of the Canadian people. Every step I took could have been my last, and yet, being so close to death was the most alive I had ever felt. It was dangerous, but I was there to try to give people a better way of life. I learned what it meant to serve a purpose, that was greater than myself, and that was very rewarding for me.”

Glen Villa

Not one to stay still for too long, Glen continued to seek meaningful ways to further his skills, volunteering his time and landing a position as a rescuer on an international disaster response team called ERTSAR. He deployed to Staten Island, New York, in response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and to the Philippines in 2013 in response to Super Typhoon Haiyan.

His team specialized in U.S.A.R, but also put their EMR medical training to use. “New York was more about the structural assessment and collapse mitigation while searching for victims in an organized environment. The Philippines, on the other hand, had massive windswept trees strewn everywhere, rendering most of the ravaged islands inaccessible. We used various methods of insertion, including helicopters and boats. I spent a lot of time on the chainsaw breaching routes into remote villages so we could set up mobile hospitals to treat survivors and replenish the area with supplies.”

In the years that followed, he bounced around a few interesting jobs while his Fire Department application was going through. This included: driving 14,000 kilometers up and down western Canada testing the new police interceptor vehicle for Ford Motor Company, working construction installing iron cladding on the exterior of high-rise condos using swing stages and zoom booms, and working in the film industry as a weapons handler

for movies such as Robocop, and Suicide Squad.

Glen completed his NFPA 1001 qualification in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texa and started his professional firefighting career with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services, where he worked on a Squad and an Aerial. Next, Glen worked for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, where he gained a thorough understanding of CANDU (Canadian Deuterium) Nuclear Reactors and how to perform Emergency Response duties within a nuclear environment.

In 2018, drawn to the action of the big city and eager to serve in his hometown, he began his career with Toronto Fire Services. Since then, He has found Toronto Fire to be very supportive of his military career. Even though Glen is one of our newer firefighters, he has embraced old school values. He has donated his time in support of Camp Bucko, participated in various muscular dystrophy fundraisers, and also a sleepover drive. Added to those events are the Terry Fox run, City TV Christmas tree charity event, Easter seals Telethon, Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Toronto, and his attendance at the Fallen Fire Fighter Foundation Ceremony in Ottawa.

Some of his other charitable work includes embarking on a 36 man Expedition that summited Vinson Massif, which, at 4892 meters, is the tallest mountain in Antarctica. With the help of the True Patriot Love Foundation, this expedition helped raise 2.4 million dollars for wounded veterans and their families as well as for soldiers transitioning from military to civilian life. He was also a lead navigator and support crew for an eight-man team that placed 2nd in the Race Across America (RAAM), posting a finishing time of 5 days 16 hours, setting the Canadian record. This ultra-distance cycling race spans continental America for more than 4800 km, from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland. Through the race, team “True Patriot Love,” was able to raise $132,000 for wounded veterans and PTSD initiatives. RAAM is 1500 km longer than the Tour de France, and is completed in one stage! Glen is Stationed on P-132, on D Platoon. “My first six-alarm fire was when York Memorial Collegiate burned. It was pretty wild to see the scale of such a fire. I was involved in hitting hydrants, assisting with pump operations, setting up monitors, and manning the tip of the aerial” “The first time I was the driver of the pumper, I ended up pumping when we were first-in at a house fire. I never thought that pumping would be exciting, but the adrenaline was going as my crew made an entry with me supporting their lifelines from the pump. I was relieved and proud that everything went smoothly.” “The craziest call I’ve had was when covering a shift in South. We had to breach a door with a suspected gunman with a baby inside. The police were right behind my partner and me with their guns drawn. I won’t lie, it brought back some memories, and definitely got my blood pumping! “

Outside of firefighting and military duty, Glen enjoys working on his mustang and playing sports like volleyball and soccer, and he enjoys salsa dancing. He has also recently prioritized travel, hoping to have visited 40 countries by the time he hits 40 years of age. Presently, at age 33, Glen has been to 28 countries. He remains committed to helping others maintain balanced mental health and getting involved with the department in any way he can.