More than 100 people gathered in North Sydney, N.S. on Thursday to remember Dave Walsh, who was killed last weekend while rushing to the aid of a child.
The 66-year-old retired volunteer firefighter was run over by a Cape Breton Regional Police vehicle after coming to help emergency responders caring for a toddler who had fallen from a two-storey window.
At his funeral on Thursday, he was remembered as a man who gave back to his Cape Breton community.
“We all as firefighters have two families. We have our biological family at home, and our firefighter family here,” said Nelson Scott, Walsh’s friend and colleague.
Both families were out in force, with member of fire departments from across Cape Breton gathering to pay their respects.
For North Sydney Fire Chief Lloyd MacIntosh, as for many others, it was an emotional day.
He remembered Walsh as “just a quiet humble person. Just a quiet humble person who smiles a lot.”
Scott remembered his friend for how he took his role as a husband, father and grandfather.
“A real family man who loved his wife and his son, daughter and grandchild. That’s all he ever talked about,” he said.
Walsh’s firefighting career spanned 20 years, and MacIntosh says he leaves tough shoes to fill, as a friend and representative of the department.
“Even in retirement there were things that he still did for us that we won’t have,” he said.
Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team is conducting an investigation into Walsh’s death.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore
