For the first time, all three North Perth Fire Department (NPFD) stations gathered together for an appreciation event at the Elma Community Centre on Saturday, Nov. 16.
“The event included a number of certificate presentations and recognition for years of service, it also served as a way for the municipality to acknowledge the support of the families of NPFD members,” Manager of Development & Protective Services/Fire Chief, Janny Pape told the Listowel Banner.
Activities were provided by North Perth programs staff for the children of the volunteer firefighters who attended the event, while they took in a presentation from a guest speaker.
The guest speaker was Lexi Bowman, a Bachelor of Health Science student at Queen’s University and an advocate for firefighting-related cancer.
“This accomplished young woman lost her father, Captain Craig Bowman, to an occupational illness in May 2023, at the age of 47,” Pape explained.
Her father had served with the Welland Fire Department since 2002. Through advocacy Bowman’s work has led to amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance (WSIB) Act, lowering the length of employment required for the presumption of primary site esophageal cancer from 25 to 15 years.
Her timely presentation to local volunteer firefighters came just days before the Province of Ontario announced that it will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, will expand presumptive coverage for firefighters in the case of primary-site kidney cancer by reducing the required duration of service from 20 to 10 years, which would be the lowest duration of service in Canada.
According to a release from the province, firefighters die of cancer at a rate up to four times higher than the general population. Presumptive coverage under the WSIB streamlines the assessment of certain firefighter WSIB claims by presuming the worker’s injury or occupational disease is work-related, making it faster and easier for firefighters to access WSIB benefits and services.
There are over 12,000 full-time professional firefighters in Ontario, over 500 part-time personnel and over 18,000 volunteer firefighters.