Greater Victoria firefighters hold first annual fundraiser hockey game in memory of two firefighters | 24CA News

Firefighters and supporters gathered Saturday in Vancouver Island’s Township of Esquimalt for a pleasant hockey sport.

The first annual “Ken Gill and Forrest Owens Memorial Hockey” sport was held at midday, with the objective of elevating funds and consciousness for psychological well being and most cancers.

“Today is about us remembering a couple of our good friends, Ken Gill and Forrest Owens,” mentioned Steve Serbic, Esquimalt’s fireplace chief.

“We are playing a memorial hockey game but also creating a safe space where the general public can come down and talk about cancer and mental illness.”

Occupational most cancers is the main explanation for line-of-duty deaths within the fireplace service and firefighters experiencing a number of traumatic occasions have a better danger of growing post-traumatic stress which burdens psychological well being.

“Ken Gill and Forrest Owens were friends. Many people knew them personally, and they both were huge advocates for mental health. I’ll be picking up a hockey stick and will be playing a few shifts.”

An oncologist, Dr. Kenneth Kunz,  spoke on the occasion. He talked concerning the impacts of most cancers and firefighting on each firefighters and their households.

“Firefighters get all different types of cancers, and they come much earlier than the general public,” he advised Global News.

“Firefighters are routinely exposed to thousands of different types of carcinogens that are synthesized in the heat and fire… there are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals… when you burn these plastics and synthetic construction materials, even if firefighters wear all their proactive gear, these molecules are extremely small.

“These molecules penetrate the gear and the bodies are coated by thousands of carcinogens which are absorbed through the skin.”

Ken Gill had a 33-year firefighting profession with the Langford, Department of National Defence, Sidney and Oak Bay Fire Departments. He retired in 2014 from the Oak Bay FD as a captain inspector. Ken then served as FD Chaplain to each Oak Bay and Esquimalt Fire Departments and was a robust advocate for psychological well being. He handed away in 2018.

Forrest Owens had 35 years of service to the Central Saanich group working as a volunteer firefighter, captain, and profession assistant fireplace chief. He was well-known and revered locally not solely as a firefighter, but additionally as an avid fisherman, devoted coach in hockey and lacrosse, and member on a number of boards and committees, in line with Esquimalt workers. He handed away in 2022.

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