Winnipeg Fire Fighter Records Moving Musical Tribute

February 27, 2007 -- A Winnipeg fire fighter who performed a moving musical tribute during the February 14 memorial service for Winnipeg Local 867 members Tom Nichols and Harold Lessard is set to record the song, and the proceeds from the resulting CD will be used to create a scholarship in the name of the two fallen fire fighters.

Winnipeg Local 867 member Jason Buhr penned song, “Unite Our Hearts Today,” the morning after the February 4 tragedy in which Nichols and Lessard, both captains with more than 30 years on the job, were killed when a flashover occurred at a residential fire in the city.

The Harold Lessard and Tom Nichols Scholarship Fund/Award will help low-income students attend courses at the Manitoba Emergency Services College in Brandon.

Winnipeg IAFF Local 867 reports that the song has, as its title suggests, united the hearts of not only those who attended the memorial and fellow fire fighters across the IAFF, but also the community, the media and the entire nation.

Buhr has been interviewed by several media about the song and his plans for the recording, and is reported to be humbled by the experience. “As a songwriter my main goal is to create something that people can relate to and ultimately inspire the hearts and minds of all who listen,” he says.

Winnipeg Local 867 President Alex Forrest noted that the song is especially poignant because Lessard was Buhr’s Captain. “To sit down and write that the morning after his Captain dies, that’s amazing. And you can tell it is heartfelt.”

Coverage of the line of duty deaths of Tom Nichols and Harold Lessard, as well as the memorial and song, is available on the Winnipeg Local 867 web site at www.uffw.ca.