Firefighters know all too well how burns can change someone’s life, so when a Burnaby firefighter was given the chance to help victims of these severe injuries, he jumped at it – and now he’s getting his whole family involved.
Tyler Bruce is a second-generation firefighter with the Burnaby Fire Department, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle.
In 2008, the New Westminster native was called to an apartment fire and when he arrived on scene, the first thing he saw was a young boy who had been severely burned.
“I didn’t want to show any emotions because we’re not really supposed to show emotions,” Bruce said, thinking back to that day nearly six years ago.
The incident left Bruce shaken to his core. He said his emotions were so strong he had to pull over to the side of the road on his way home from work that day.
“That’s when I thought of my kids and it was just the ‘What if? What if that was my kids?’ It definitely hit home. I hugged my kids for probably 45 minutes when I got home,” he recalled.
Bruce knew he had to do something to help kids who suffer severe second- and third-degree burns, so he began volunteering with the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association Burn Fund at its Young Burn Survivor Camp.
At the camp, Bruce reconnected with the little boy he had met at the apartment fire and was shocked to see how much of a difference the camp made in the young boy’s life.
“I have kids roughly the same age as him, so it really affected me that way. Just to see what his family went through and how withdrawn he was,” he said. “The burn camp just brings him out like tenfold, it’s amazing to see the difference, and I think it was really important for him.”
This experience has left a lasting impression on Bruce. He now volunteers annually at the camp and tries to help the association as much as he can, so when his aunt Betty approached him about donating his uncle’s art collection, he knew exactly where she could donate it.
John Carr, Bruce’s uncle, was a firefighter in Burnaby for many years and in his spare time he collected art, all kinds of art from oil paintings to First Nations carvings and paintings. When he died of a heart attack in the late ‘90s, the collection remained untouched.
“He accumulated a lot of art over the years, and my aunt, this year, decided she wanted to donate it, and she chose the burn fund because it’s a big part of me and she just wanted to help out,” Bruce said.
With the assistance of burn fund project director Erik Vogel, also a Burnaby firefighter, and the Langley Arts Council, John Carr’s collection was appraised and soon the public will have a chance to purchase more than 1,000 pieces when they officially go on sale on May 28.
All proceeds will go toward raising the final $2 million needed to build the Burn Fund Centre in Vancouver. The centre will provide eight short-term stay units for burn and trauma patients and their families. The centre will also house a public education resource centre and retail space.
To view and buy pieces from the John Carr Collection visit www.johncarrcollection.org.
