Northern Sunrise County’s Deputy Fire Chief Julien Bergeron is on a mission to raise awareness for firefighter health and fitness, and support the families of fallen firefighters. On Saturday, June 9th, Bergeron will raise awareness for these causes by embarking on a 5 day run from Grande Prairie to Peace River.
“The reason I’m doing this run is to bring awareness, and fund raise at the same time for the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation,” says Bergeron. “It’s a foundation that supports the families of fallen firefighters, whether it’s through bursaries or scholarships, or with funeral support.”
Bergeron says portions of the run have been sponsored by fire departments across Alberta. He explains he approached departments across the province to sell portions of the run, which is divided into 21 legs. Each leg is $500 for 10 kilometres. Bergeron notes he’s already surpassed his fundraising goal.
“What I decided to do this year was challenge myself in a different way, and find a charity that I’m directly impacted by,” says Bergeron. “My goal at the beginning was $10,000, and I believe I’m at the $11,000 mark so far.”
Bergeron says his family, friends and the emergency services community has given him great support since he made his announcement about the run. He notes during some points of the run, he’ll be joined by emergency services staff from other stations.
“I do have confirmation on a few joining me, however I’ve heard that there’s certain sections where I’ll have a bigger entourage; so that’ll be interesting to see.”
The run isn’t only about fundraising and supporting the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation; Bergeron says it’s also about promoting firefighter health and fitness.
“I’m definitely trying to bring awareness to the fitness side of things. Where we can prevent something, we should prevent it. When we’re getting to the cardiac pulmonary aspect it’s important to stay in shape so that we’re not over-stressed when we get to the fire ground.”
If you’d like to donate to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, you can donate here. Bergeron encourages anyone who donates to include “Northern Trek” in the message for their donation to count towards his 5 day run.
Once the run begins, you can track Julien’s progress here.
