Led by the Toronto Professional Firefighter Celtic Society, over 60 firefighters — including colleagues from Hamilton, Oakville, Markham, Whitby, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, and Stephenville, NFLD — will embark on a three-day cycling ride from Hamilton to Ottawa covering 575 kilometres — in wind, rain, or shine.
The purpose of the ride is to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation(CFFF), which hosts the annual National Firefighters Memorial (www.cfff.ca) to honour, remember and support the families of firefighters whose lives were lost in the line of duty.
This year’s Memorial takes place virtually on Sunday Sept. 12, at the Canadian Firefighters Memorial in Ottawa. One Hundred and Twenty-Four names of the fallen will be sketched on the Memorial Wall this year, among those 1700 names already included of fallen firefighters from across Canada and the territories, dating back to the late 1800s.
The annual National Firefighters Memorial draws hundreds of firefighters from each of the provinces and territories who attend the ceremony in a show of solidarity and commemoration. The Toronto Professional Firefighter Celtic Society ride has grown every year in participation numbers and in tributes to their fallen comrades.
The ride leaves Hamilton on Wednesday, September 8, at 08:45 am and ends in Ottawa on Friday, September 10, at 4:45 pm. The goal is to raise $50 000 for the CFFF. Donate at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Canadian-fallen-firefighters-foundation/p2p/2021_ride/ Media are invited to all stops along the ride, listed in the itinerary below, and to the media events listed on each of the three days during the ride. Interviews available in English and French.
The schedule for day one is as followed;
Day 1
Depart Hamilton Fire Training Academy 1227 Stone Church Road
Media availability 8:15 am – 8:45 am
Morning Stop
Oakville Fire Station 3 156 Kerr St.
10:05 am – 10:20 am
Lunch Stop
Toronto Fire Academy S/E Corner 895 Eastern Ave. Toronto
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Afternoon Stop
Whitby Fire Station 3 1501 Brock Street south Whitby
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm
Finish day 1
Best West Cobourg 930 Burnham St. Cobourg.
Approximately 6:00 pm
For ride updates follow: Facebook: TPFFCS Memorial Ride to Ottawa ➢ Instagram: tpffcsmemorialridetoottawa
Twitter: @memorialridetoottawa