THUNDER BAY – Paramedics cycled through parts of Thunder Bay on Wednesday, an effort to remember colleagues who have died as a result of the job.
More than a dozen paramedics and family members took part in the ride, the first leg of which led them from Superior North EMS’s Junot Street headquarters to Hillcrest Park overlooking the Sleeping Giant, where a bell was rung 50 times for those who have fallen.
It was rung once more in support of those who suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome and other paramedics whose psychological suffering have led them to commit suicide.
Jonathan Woodbeck, the peer support and wellness co-ordinator for Superior North EMS, said it was an emotional day for paramedics in the Thunder Bay area.
The ceremony usually takes place in Ottawa and Toronto, the start and end destinations of a cyclist ride to honour those who died on the job.
With COVID-19 restrictions in place, in 2020 organizers decided to ship the bell to communities throughout the province and bring the ceremony closer to home.
“It’s sobering,” Woodbeck said. “Often up here in the north, and with smaller services, we forget that we’re part of a much larger paramedic family. Events like this, events like the ride, sort of bring us together, remind us that we’re not alone, that there’s others out there. There are others who have sacrificed. There are others who haven’t made it home to their families.”
It’s a reminder for paramedics to not only stay safe on the job, but to be respectful, helping and watching each other’s backs.
“At the end of the day, we’re out here on the front lines and we need to be supporting each other,” Woodbeck said.
It’s tough sometimes, he said, especially thinking about colleagues they’ve lost to suicide at Superior North EMS.
“At any point, what we do is dangerous,” he said. “There are inherent dangers to the job. There are risks we take on every single day and there’s always a chance that you might not come home. Sometimes you forget that in the day to day, but to be here with a group, to be remembering those that didn’t make it home, it’s huge.”
Ryan Charbonneau, said he took part in last year’s ride between Toronto and Ottawa and said it truly showed him just how large a family paramedics are in Ontario and across the country.
“To be able to have the bell here in Thunder Bay and bring it home to my colleagues and have them share it was something pretty special ,” he said. “I’m just glad we had a beautiful day and that we could share it and have a little ceremony here at Hillcrest and honour our colleagues.”
Charbonneau, who works for ORNGE in Ontario’s far north, said the public often doesn’t see the work put in by paramedics, often in and out of incident scenes quickly.
“I think there’s a misconception that EMS can be a very safe job. We’re not in the public eye as much as often we’re there and gone with people before media and the public see it. Especially the land crews here in Thunder Bay, they’re going into these situations of unknown dangers, working in all types of weather,” he said.
“Our crew in Moosonee faces flight dangers. It’s an unknown fact of our job, alongside fire and police.”
