Memorial hockey game honours firefighters and raises awareness of on-the-job hazards
Greater Victoria firefighters will be lacing up their skates Saturday to honour three members who died after serving their communities.
Esquimalt’s Archie Browning Sports Centre will host the first “Ken Gill and Forrest Owens Memorial Hockey Game” to celebrate the lives of the fallen firefighters. Organizers of the family-friendly event also want to raise awareness of the high incidence of cancer suffered by members of the fire service across Canada.
“Two of the greatest risk factors for firefighters are occupational cancer and mental illness,” said Esquimalt Fire Chief Steve Serbic.
"We want to acknowledge that these are issues in our profession and we want to create and environment where people can come and talk about it.”
Ken Gill died in 2018 after serving the communities of Langford, Sidney, Oak Bay and CFB Esquimalt for more than 33 years. After retiring in 2014, Gill served as the fire department chaplain for both the Esquimalt and Oak Bay fire departments and was a strong advocate for mental health.
Forrest Owens was a member of the Central Saanich Fire Department for 35 years, serving as a volunteer firefighter, fire captain, and assistant fire chief. Owens died in his home on June 21, 2022, due to complications resulting from his battle with cancer.
Langford Assistant Fire Chief Lance Caven will also be honoured at the memorial hockey game. Caven served the community of Langford for more than 30 years. He died earlier this week after an 18-month battle with cancer.
“We will have families in the stands of those fallen firefighters and we will also have BC Cancer Agency to answer questions," said Serbic. “We’re going to create a space where people can come and talk about mental health or cancer awareness.”
Serbic says before the puck is dropped to start the game, there will be a special presentation made to two Esquimalt High School students as a legacy for Gill and Owens.
“We’ll be giving two scholarships, one will be in Ken Gill’s name and the other in Forrest Owens' name,” said Serbic. “The scholarships will be going to two great kids who’ve done great work in their community.”
Serbic says he hopes the event will bring awareness to the unseen perils faced by firefighters as they serve the residents in their communities. He says it is also a way for the community of firefighters to come together to remember and celebrate three valued members who were lost.
“It's for firefighters who knew those individuals to get out there and pass the puck around and have some fun,” he said.
The doors open at the Archie Browning Sports Centre on Esquimalt Road at 11:30 a.m. The puck drops at noon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.