Ten British Columbian Paramedics Have Given Their Lives in the Line of Duty
This page is dedicated to the memory of the men and women of British Columbia’s emergency medical services who gave their lives in the service of others. Our line-of-duty losses do not include those members who’ve passed away due to work-related illness or injury.
Let no one underestimate the dangers that British Columbia’s paramedics and dispatchers face every day on the job. For us and our families, this is a painful reminder of the reality of the hazards of our work. May they rest in peace for their brave sacrifices that shall not be forgotten.
In addition to the ten paramedics lost in the line of duty, we also remember Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, Pilot Daniel Jorgensen, and Pilot Geir Zinke. They were members of a flight team on a medevac jet that crashed near Masset, BC, in January 1995, killing all five on board (including two paramedics).
Tony Sunderland, 41, collapsed and died of a heart attack while attending to two critical patients from a motor vehicle accident near Endako, BC. Tony was the first British Columbia paramedic to die while on duty. He was married and had two sons.
Theresa Bond, 42, was the Unit Chief at the Atlin station in northwestern British Columbia when she died in a plane crash en route to a Unit Chief’s meeting in Smithers. Theresa joined the BCAS in 1980 and became the Unit Chief in Atlin in 1987.
Carol was assigned to the Hope, BC station. She and her partner were returning to their station after a day of working in the Fraser Valley when the ambulance they were in was involved in a tragic accident, striking a rock wall along Highway 1 near Hope, BC.
Wendy Thompson, 33, perished when the airevac jet she was on went down over the ocean in the early morning hours near Masset, BC. The flight team was en route to transport a pregnant woman to Prince Rupert. Four others also perished – Paramedic Andreas Goedicke, Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, and pilots Daniel Jorgensen and Geir Zinke.
Andreas Goedicke, 40, perished when the airevac Learjet he was on went down over the ocean in the early morning hours near Masset, BC. The flight team was en route to transport a pregnant woman to Prince Rupert. Four others also perished – Paramedic Wendy Thompson, Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, and pilots Daniel Jorgensen and Geir Zinke.
Shawn Currier, 21, was assigned to the Kimberley station. Shawn and his partner, Kim Weitzel, were responding to a call inside a water-testing shed at the decommissioned Sullivan Mine. Shawn and Kim, along with two mine employees, were overcome by a low oxygen atmosphere. All four tragically lost their lives.
Kim Weitzel, 44, was assigned to the Kimberley station. Kim and her partner, Shawn Currier, were responding to a call inside a water-testing shed at the decommissioned Sullivan Mine. Both Kim and Shawn, along with two mine employees, were overcome by a low oxygen atmosphere. All four tragically lost their lives.
Michael Gray died suddenly from a medical condition just after clearing Vancouver Hospital. He collapsed at the wheel causing the ambulance to collide with several parked cars. Michael’s partner initiated medical care immediately, but resuscitative efforts assisted by other responding units were not successful.
JoAnn Fuller was the unit chief at the Tofino, BC, station. She and her partner, Ivan Polivka, were returning from the hospital in Port Alberni when their ambulance was involved in a single-vehicle accident. The unit plunged off a narrow road and into Kennedy Lake. Both veteran members tragically lost their lives.
Ivan Polivka was assigned to the Tofino, BC, station. He and his partner, JoAnn Fuller, were returning from the hospital in Port Alberni when their ambulance was involved in a single-vehicle accident. The unit plunged off a narrow road and into Kennedy Lake. Both veteran members tragically lost their lives.