Daughter of firefighter killed in training exercise hopes inquest saves lives

Myrissa Kendall standson a walkway along the St. Clair River in Point Edward, Ont., where her father, volunteer firefighter Gary Kendall, died after a cold-water rescue training exercisein 2010.

"I never wanted another family to go through this," she says.

But five years later, 30-year-old Adam Brunt, a fire-fighting student, also died while participating in an ice-and-water rescue certification course in Hanover, Ont.

On Tuesday, a coroner's inquest into their deaths will get underway in Toronto with the goal of preventing similar deaths.

"I want there to be standards," Kendell told CBC Toronto.

Another inquest from 1990

Recently, Kendall became aware of another inquest from 1990 into the death of firefighter Harry Chevalier and two other men.

"I'm very angry ... nothing was done and we have two more men dead," she said.

Chevalier, 35, drowned on July 4,1990. He was among the team of Port Colborne firefighters who entered Lake Erie in an attempted to rescue Dennis Schultz and Robert Funk.

All three men died.

A coroners inquest into their deaths resulted in a list of recommendations that included a call to regulate how firefighters are trained for water rescues. The jury called on the province to create "a standard code of rescue practices for shore based water rescue units."

Italso recommended "the Fire Marshal develop and offer a course in water and ice rescue to all water rescue units."

Kendall said her father "was never trained ... and yet he went down to a very unstable river for a training exercise."

"It doesn't make sense that the government and people were brought in to make these recommendations for safe practice and that it wasn't taken either seriously enough to put it into standards," Kendall told CBC Toronto.

In a statement sent to CBC Toronto, Ontario'sMinistry of Advanced Education and Skills Development says they take "the accidents surrounding these deaths very seriously" and are looking at taking steps to "review options related to single skill training programs."

"We were saddened to hear about these incidents," reads the statement. "Our thoughts are with the families and colleagues of the two trainees who passed away.

"The government believes that anyone learning a new skill deserves to do so in a safe environment."

The statement says the ministry will review the findings of the Coroner's Inquest and look at possible change to legislation and regulations.

Charges laid

After her father's death, charges were laid under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against Point Edward Fire Chief Doug McKenzie and Terry Harrison, a rescue instructor and also the owner of HerschelRescue Training Systems.

The charges against McKenzie were dropped andHarrison was acquitted.

Harrison was there the day Kendall died, but he says he was there as a friend of the department and though he gave advice when asked, he was not hired to be there.

• Date set for inquest into the death of Point Edward firefighter Gary Kendall

The judge in the case sided with Harrison, explaining there was no evidence to show he was given a retainerto run the training course and therefore was not in charge that day. In the end, the municipality of Point Edward was fined $75,000 for failing to protect its employee.

However, it was a different story on the day of Adam Brunt's death. Brunt was taking the two-day course offered by Herschel Rescue Training Systems.

Harrison said that day he had taken the students to the SaugeenRiver in Hanover to teach them how to react toa moving current.

He recalled what happened in aninterview with CBC Toronto.

"Adam got snagged on a piece of rebar that was embedded in the bottom of the river that no one would ever known about," he said.

He says it was the safety harness that got snagged.

The investigation into what happened will be revealed during the inquest.

'No one needs to lose their life in a training exercise'

After Brunt's death, his relativesand the Kendallfamily joined MPP Jennifer French to call on the province to regulate private-sector companies offering these courses.

Harrison doesn't think pointing the finger at private companies is the answer.

He agrees that there needs to be regulations but "it needs to go further than that. It needs to go to better equipment, better training grounds."

The inquest will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at the Forensic Services and Coroners Complex at 25 Morton ShulmanAve. near Keele Street and Wilson Avenue in Toronto.

It's expected to last two weeks and15 to 18 witnesses will testify.

For Myrissa Kendall, the road to get here has been long but she hopes the inquest will help save lives.

"No one needs to lose their life in a training exercise."