Strathcona County continued its tradition of honouring fallen first responders on Wednesday (Sept. 7).
A small procession from the county’s emergency services honour guard led a march and a ceremony at the Strathcona Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial.
This marks the 20th year of the tradition, which is meant to give people in the area the chance to recognize and honour those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
A significant part of the ceremony at the monument includes the ringing of “The Last Alarm” which includes ringing a bell three times to mark a fallen member’s last call home.
Flags at the site were lowered to pay respects.
The monument
Currently, there are six Strathcona County names on the memorial:
- Firefighter and paramedic Ronald Raymond
- Lieutenant and inspector Bob Martell
- Captain Garry E. Grummett
- Captain Sidney E. J. Lowe
- Captain Willi F.E. Brown
- Deputy chief Barry Tilley
The monument, which was first unveiled in 2002, consists of a large bronze plaque depicting a real-life scene of Strathcona firefighters rescuing citizens from a fire in a Mills Haven neighbourhood.
For those interested in seeing the monument, it can be viewed beside Fire Station 1 in Sherwood Park.