JANICE GOLDING SPECIAL GUEST HOST
Janice Golding is an award-winning journalist, digger, story teller and mom of three. Janice is the 2024 TPFFA Media Award winner for Best Live News Story and is a videojournalist and fill-in anchor with CTV News
It would be hard for Janice to go unnoticed, given she will celebrate her 25th anniversary at CTV Toronto this summer. Over the years, she has covered countless major stories that have made headlines in the GTA, Southern Ontario, and across Canada.
Originally from Cochrane, Ontario, Janice got her start as a videographer with the NEW RO in Ottawa. She also spent some of her early twenties working at CKWS News in Kingston, where she hosted a news magazine program and anchored the station’s late-night newscast.
Janice attended the University of Toronto, where she received a B.A. in English and Political Science, before moving on to Carleton University where she earned a Masters in Journalism.
Janice is passionate about her family and loves all thing outdoors (camping, hiking and paddleboarding). She also has a brown belt in Taekwondo. When not being physically active, Janice loves reading, writing and painting.
JAMES REED PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Welcome to the 2025 Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association Annual Community Recognition Event!
In the spirit of camaraderie and service, we gather once again to celebrate the unwavering dedication and remarkable achievements of our Toronto Fire Fighters, both on and off duty.
As firefighters, our commitment to the well-being of our community transcends the confines of our work hours. Each year, many among us exemplify the spirit of volunteerism and demonstrate acts of selfless bravery that inspire us all. Today, we come together to honor these exceptional individuals and share their inspiring stories.
While our service is often visible, we recognize that our impact is amplified through the lens of the media. We extend our gratitude to the journalists and media professionals who tirelessly share our narrative, shedding light on the critical work of Toronto Fire Fighters and fostering a deeper understanding within our community.
Behind the scenes, the dedication of our Media and Public Relations Committee has been instrumental in organizing this event. Their tireless efforts and collaborative spirit have ensured that deserving individuals receive the recognition they deserve.
We are also deeply grateful for the continued support of our sponsors and contributors, whose generosity allows us to uphold our tradition of supporting various charitable organizations across the City of Toronto. Your contributions enable us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.
To all the award winners, your hard work and unwavering commitment throughout the year of 2025 have not gone unnoticed. Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition!
As we reflect on the past year and look forward to the opportunities ahead, let us reaffirm our shared commitment to serving our community with integrity, compassion, and courage.
OFF-DUTY AWARDS
There is no doubt that positive public perception of Toronto firefighters is directly influenced by the selfless actions of our members and supporters each and every day, on and off-duty.
The Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Asociation established our Off-Duty Awards to recognize the actions of individuals who have gone above and beyond to serve others while off-duty. These awards recognize efforts that include sudden moments of selfless bravery as well as ongoing commitments of devoted volunteerism.
Each of the Off-Duty Award recipients has made our community a better, safer place, and has brought honour to our firefighting community. We hope our award-winners and their selfless acts continue to serve as an inspiration to our members and the community we serve.
Roy Silver Award
Awarded to the Local 3888 member(s), who during the past year, while off-duty, has distinguished themselves by performing first aid/CPR for a fellow citizen.
Blair Waddell
While attending a wedding in Aruba, Blair and his wife were enjoying some down time on the beach. Blair’s wife noticed a commotion on the beach not too far away from their location. Blair investigated and learned a man was out in the water possibly drowning. Blair went into the water in search of the victim. Blair located him, and with the assistance of others, the victim was brought to shore. Blair did a primary assessment and determined the man was VSA. With the assistance of an off-duty Police Officer, the two of them began CPR. After approx 5 minutes, the patient started breathing on his own, but remained unconscious. When the Ambulance arrived, Blair assisted the Medics with carrying the patient using a scoop stretcher, along the beach, to the Ambulance. A few days later Blair ran into the patient and his wife at their hotel. Turns out the patient was staying in the same Hotel as Blair & his wife. According to Blair, it was quite the emotional meeting for both of them.
Bernard ‘Ben’ Bonser Award
Awarded to the Local 3888 member(s) who during the past year, while off-duty, has distinguished themselves by making a rescue, or being involved in saving the life of a fellow citizen in a hazardous or threatening situation
Kyle Dobrowolski
Kyle’s four year old son Lawson was up around 7:30am, in full Miles Morales Spiderman costume, and noticed ‘bad smoke’ when he looked out of his window and told his dad. Kyle looked out the window and saw a black smoke plume from the house directly behind his. Kyle ran to the house while calling 911 to alert the neighbour of a fire. On his arrival at the house, he had a working car fire that was rapidly spreading to the front of the house. Kyle woke up the residents and evacuated them. Kyle had the homeowner turn on their water to an exterior garden hose and started to knock down the fire in the engine compartment and protect the house exposure. The fire had already gotten inside the vehicle through the firewall, he utilized a hammer to break a window of the car to get access to more fire inside the cab. The fire department arrived and stretched a line from their apparatus to overhaul and ensure fire was under control. Kyle says that if it was not for Lawson noticing the smoke, the house (and possibly multiple others) would have become involved and worst case scenario people trapped in the house.
Al Pearsall Award
Awarded to the Local 3888 member(s) who contributed time, energy, and ability toward the improvement of their community and fellow citizens, while off-duty.
Michael Belliveau
Mike Belliveau goes above and beyond for the students of Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School. Michael uses the majority of his vacation in order to coach every game of the students football season. In his off time he will study plays, scout other schools and run practice sessions during the week. He encourages the kids to get good grades and to work on bettering themselves each and every day. The amount of time and dedication Mike puts into this football team is to be admired especially considering that he has no relation to any of the players on the team. Mikes hard work and dedication had him voted the 2023 AA coach of the year and he continues to put that same amount of effort for 2024. Mike is an exemplary role model for the players at Henry Carr, and has gone above and beyond dedicating himself to the players and the team.
Off Duty Award: Barry White Award
Awarded to the Local 3888 member(s) who contributed time, energy, and ability toward the improvement of their community and fellow citizens, while off-duty.
Desmond Brett
Desmond Brett has been a steadfast member of TFS Support 7 since 1977, offering an incredible 48 years of dedicated service to the community. As the organization’s first point of contact when Toronto Fire Services requests Support 7 at any fire scene, Desmond plays a critical role in ensuring timely and effective response.
Available 365 days a year, Desmond is always ready to answer the call—literally. When an incident commander requests Support 7, it’s Desmond who picks up the phone, quickly initiating the volunteer response team to head to the scene. His calm demeanor, operational knowledge, and unwavering commitment are invaluable assets in high-pressure situations.
With nearly five decades of experience, Desmond has become a cornerstone of the organization. His service reflects not only deep dedication but also a legacy of reliability and compassion that continues to support Toronto’s first responders when they need it most.
MEDIA AWARDS
Since 1949, the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association has sponsored an annual Media Awards to honour and acknowledge media professionals who produce insightful and impactful coverage of the work that Toronto firefighters perform.
Firefighting is often dangerous and dramatic work. In Toronto, we are fortunate that our local media professionals do an excellent job of covering our efforts and capturing some of the dangers that we face on a regular basis. Many of our local journalists and media professionals also distinguish themselves through extensive investigation and insightful analysis of the people and stories behind the events.
The positive public perception of Toronto firefighters is undoubtedly as a result of the positive presentation of our profession by our local media professionals. Toronto firefighters are grateful for coverage of not only our professional actions, but also of our volunteerism and our charitable contributions to our community.
Our annual TPFFA Media Awards provides an opportunity for us to honour journalists who distinguish themselves with reporting of the highest quality on events involving our members. Award categories have been developed to recognize excellence in various mediums, whether coverage be in print, television, radio or posted online.
Best photograph by a Toronto Firefighter
John Hanley
Best media representation by a Toronto firefighter
Sheri Godda
CP24 Breakfast Movember Battle of the Bands
Bridletown High Rise Fire
Best Photo, Web Based –Cole Burston Blaze at St. Anne’s Anglican Church
Best Firewatch Article –Adina Kaufman
Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Best Print Article over 100,000 –Toronto Star Raju Mudhar, Ben Spurr, & Asma Sahebzada
Watch the Rescue: Toronto Fire comes to aid of stranded motorists on the DVP
Best Live News Story, web based –CP24
Melissa Duggan
Etobicoke House Fire
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The Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association takes great pride in charitable efforts, as giving back to the less fortunate in the communities we serve is extremely important to our members.
Over the past year, the TPFFA Charity Committee has helped with:
• Camp Bucko
• Pink (in support of #PMCF)
• Movember (in support of Movember Canada)
• Motionball Toronto (Special Olympics)
• Muscular Dystrophy Canada (boot drives with recruit classes)
• The Island Classic Disc Golf (at Centre Island in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada)
• Dreams Take Flight
• Diabetes Canada
• Colorectal Cancer Canada
• Centennial Park Golf Centre (annual golf tournament in support of Women’s Habitat)
• Rob Penny Slo-Pitch Tournament (in support of #PMCF),
• TFS Pride Campaign
• and many more.
For 2024, we donated just over $100,000.
