As 2017 begins the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation looks back on another year. The Foundation honored twelve families at the annual ceremony in September which was hosted by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management for the Province of Ontario as they celebrated 100 years in existence. Fifty-four fallen were added to the memorial wall. The 2016 ceremony was held on the 15th anniversary of 9/11 and we remembered the 343 New York firefighters lost that day as well.
The Foundation was honoured to have the new Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honorable Ralph Goodale, attend our weekend activities and support the Foundation and our families.
The 2017 ceremony will take place at the Canadian Firefighters Memorial in Ottawa on September 10 hosted by Halifax Regional Fire Rescue as they remember the 100th anniversary of their nine firefighters killed at the Halifax explosion in 1917 , which also killed approximately 2,000 people and injured an estimated 9,000 others.
With the great help of our sponsors and donators, the Foundation continues to provide support for the families of our fallen with many programs. Our education program saw two new four-year scholarships awarded and several families sent to Camp F.A.C.E.S. last summer. Please visit our website at cfff.ca for details of all our activities.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, I wish all our supporters and families a safe and prosperous 2017.
Robert Kirkpatrick
President, CFFF