A solemn ceremony was held March 17 in Yellowknife, N.W.T. to mark the 20th anniversary of a tragic fireground accident that claimed the lives of two fire fighters.
The ceremony honoured Yellowknife Local 2890 members Cyril Fyfe and Kevin Olson, who were responding to a fire in a hardware store on March 17, 2005, when a roof collapsed. Olson, who was 24 and had been on the job only 10 days, died the same day. Fyfe, 41, died four days later in hospital. Four other fire fighters were atop the roof, cutting holes for ventilation, when it gave way.
The flag at the city’s Fire Division Memorial Park was lowered to half-staff for the ceremony as fire fighters, local political figures and members of the community gathered to remember Fyfe and Olson and to honour their sacrifice.
A ceremony is held annually at the park, where a large, engraved granite monument to Fyfe and Olson is located.
“It was a very nice ceremony, it’s an important thing to remember and it’s important to learn from the painful lessons and be better as a department going forward,” said Local 2890 President Christian Bittrolff.
Some past members of the Local returned to be part of this year’s ceremony, he added.
Above photo courtesy Devon Tredinnick/NNSL
