A display case at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay is now home to a touching tribute to Chateauguay Valley Regional High School student Gerry McAdam, who passed away earlier this year.
McAdam dreamed of becoming a firefighter, and was fundraising to build a training centre at the Hemmingford fire department after selflessly donating his wish from the Make A Wish Foundation to the cause.
NFSB health and safety officer Jason Burns was especially moved by McAdam’s dedication to firefighting. As a side project, Burns has created elaborate displays at the school board office and in the different buildings on various subjects, including Indigenous heritage, Black history, and the Kahnawake Skywalkers. He approached Billings principal Melanie Primeau about building something that would both honour McAdam’s memory while raising awareness about the local firefighter community.
Primeau agreed, saying it was important for her students to know about McAdam and to honour his dedication to the community. It took Burns around three weeks to complete the interactive display, which features a model ladder truck with working lights, firefighter equipment, a photograph of McAdam, an old yearbook, and one of his signature cowboy hats.
While working on the display, Burns visited several area fire stations and noticed many had patches from neighbouring brigades on their walls. He began to collect patches and integrated these into the display as well, noting firefighters seemed willing to rip the patches off their own uniforms to be part of the arrangement.
“Sister schools look out for each other,” said Burns, noting the display also represents the firefighter community looking out for each other. “The fire departments also look after our students in all of our schools,” he explained.