$11,000 reward for arrest, conviction of person who desecrated Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial

    BURLINGTON, ON, May 30 /CNW Telbec/ - The Ontario Professional Fire
Fighters Association (OPFFA), Manitoba Professional Fire Fighters Association
(MPFFA) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) are offering
an $11,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of
the person who desecrated the Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial at Queen's Park in
Toronto around 9 p.m. on Monday, May 12.
    The fire fighters are offering the reward through the Queen's Park
Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police.

    If you have information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of
    the person responsible for this cowardly act, call the Queen's Park OPP
    Detachment at 416-327-2367.

    A video showing the individual at the scene of the memorial has been made
public by police. The suspect is described as a lone male, fair skinned with a
thin build and short dark hair, 160 to 170 lbs. He was wearing a dark jacket
and carrying a backpack.
    The memorial, dedicated in June 2005, is inscribed with the names of
420 Ontario fire fighters who have died in the line of duty dating back to
1848. On the evening of May 12, an unknown individual spray painted anti-fire
fighter slogans on three of the memorial's inscribed granite walls, and
splashed a jar of paint on a fourth wall.
    The damage to the memorial is considerable.
    "We would like to see the individual who perpetrated this cowardly and
depraved act arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said IAFF
General President Harold Schaitberger.
    Fred LeBlanc, President of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters
Association, said "Someone out there knows who did this. We urge you to think
of the families of our fallen fire fighters, and the sacrifice they made on
behalf of the public, and help bring this person to justice."

    The OPFFA represents 10,000 professional fire fighters in the Province of
Ontario and is one of six provincial associations affiliated with the IAFF.
The IAFF is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress and
represents 287,000 professional fire fighters in North America, including
20,000 in Canada.

For further information: Fred LeBlanc, President, Ontario Professional
Fire Fighters Association, [phone]