Reward Offered To Catch Vandal Who Hit Fallen Firefighter Memorial
Posted October 3, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The graffiti may be gone but the scars remain.
Authorities are still trying to track down the person who vandalized a memorial to fallen firefighters at Queen’s Park in May and on Friday the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association announced an $11,000 reward for anyone who offers information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Anti-Liberal messages were sprayed on the granite monument which is etched with the names of 483 firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, dating back to 1843. Police released surveillance video of the vandal in action soon after the discovery, but the images didn’t get authorities closer to a suspect.
The paint has been removed from the memorial, but the heavy chemicals used in the cleanup have permanently scarred the stone. In an effort to have the wall rebuilt, the Firefighters Association kicked off a $500,000 fundraising drive Friday.
“For us it was just not acceptable to go to some families and say, you know, the vandalism, the scarring will just simply fade over time,” Fred LeBlanc, president of the Ontario Firefighters Association, said. “We didn’t think that was an acceptable response to the families.”
The province has pledged $100,000 to the effort.
Donations can be made at any TD Canada Trust branch.
