'They are priceless': Fallen firefighter's family ask for return of memorial plaques
A memorial dedicated to honouring the contribution of the city’s fallen firefighters has been vandalized for the second time.
The Edmonton Firefighters Memorial Society believes the plaques inscribed with the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty were stolen sometime between Thursday and Friday.
The Renaud family lost their son Marc, who was a firefighter battling PTSD, to suicide in August of 2018. His family said his name had been remembered and honoured at the memorial.
“This is where our son's name would’ve been,” his mother Brenda said. “It’s an honour for us, really.
“It is an honour to see his name there for the service and time he gave to Edmonton fire. It is a beautiful tribute to our son Marc and to all the firemen whose names have been stolen.”
Rob Cavell, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services retired captain, said all retired and current members are disappointed by the plaque theft.
“They are priceless to us. The metal itself may be considered valuable itself, but recycling dealers in the area will not accept plaques without proof of ownership,” Cavell said. “The owners, in this case, are the firefighters of the city of Edmonton.
“They want them back,” he added. “Those are their brothers, their colleagues, their friends, and now it could be their sons.”
Edmonton Firefighters Memorial Society monument in Strathcona neighbourhood. Saturday July 24, 2021 (CTV News Edmonton)
Bronze plaques belonging to the Edmonton Firefighters Memorial Society have been stolen (CTV News Edmonton/Brandon Lynch)
The firefighters memorial society says it’s the second time since the plaza housing the monument was created in the late 90s that the plaques have been removed.
In the first instance, the plaques were returned within a few hours.
The society maintaining the memorial says if the plaques are not returned they will need to be replaced, with an estimated cost of $10,000 to $15,000.
“That’s money out of the pockets that supposed to be going to the families as we help them deal with the loss of a loved one that was a firefighter in the city of Edmonton,” Cavell said.
The plaques can be returned to any Edmonton fire hall without any questions asked, the society said.
“Bring them back,” Cavell said.
“If that could be done, that would be the best thing they could do,” Marc's father Ray said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.