Heroes In The Sky Raises $3,000 for Friends of the Lamont Firefighters Society

Heroes In The Sky Raises $3,000 for Friends of the Lamont Firefighters Society

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Heroes in the Sky fundraiser that was held on Sept. 10 netted $3,000 for the Friends of the Lamont Firefighters Society.

Scott Calder, District Chief for Lamont and Chipman, said, “Heroes In The Sky began in 2009. It was more of an Alberta initiative through Firefighters First back in the day. We would sell calendars and try and raise money, and initially we would put people up on a structure and we wouldn’t come down until that money was raised.

Future firefighter Ella Scott stands beside grandpa and firefighter Vince Price and Sparky.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Since then it’s evolved into more of a hero’s event and we do a barbecue, have raffles and do demonstrations. We’ve try to throw a few different things in there to draw more people. So, they’re not seeing the same thing over and over again. The vehicle extrication is a highlight for people. We’ve been doing that for the past five or six years now.

Herman Sieker, President of the Friends of Lamont Firefighters Society, said, “The purpose of the Friends of Lamont Firefighting Society is to assist in providing training, education, safety and wellness to the first responders in the community. The people that are here today that are first responders do no less.”

Vehicle extrication in progress.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Sieker said they chose the Saturday closest to Sept. 11 to host the event for two significant reasons. First, on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States of America was attacked by terrorists. Among other things, the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City were struck by hijacked commercial airlines, resulting in the collapse of both.

A further attack was made on the Pentagon in Washington DC and a fourth plane was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. A total of 2,977 people died on Sept. 11, 2001 as a direct result of these attacks. Included in these numbers 415 were emergency workers who responded to the World Trade Centre. As many, if not more than that number have died or will die from illnesses resulting from the response. These people were doing their jobs.

Vehicle extrication in progress.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

The second reason is that beginning 2012, the second Sunday of September, the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony is held in Ottawa. This is to honour any firefighter line of duty deaths, (LODD) that have occurred in the prior year.

Currently, there are 1,748 names on the memorial. The first recognized LODD recorded in Canada is firefighter William Thornton, Toronto ON, Nov. 24, 1848. The most recent firefighter, Stephen Rayfield, Castor, AB, Feb. 4, 2022. The goal is to have no new names added to the memorial.”