Hundreds of emergency personnel will descend on Stratford on Tuesday to pay respects to John Mavity.
Mavity, a 57-year-old Stratford Fire Department lieutenant, died of cancer last week. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board says his cancer was most likely acquired while on the job.
Mavity’s career at the fire department ended last August, shortly before he was admitted to hospital.
His funeral will take place Tuesday, with a procession beginning behind city hall at 10 a.m. and finishing at the William Allman Memorial Arena.
Among those in attendance will be all 53 of Mavity’s colleagues with the Stratford Fire Department.
“With John passing away from an occupational disease, he paid the ultimate sacrifice not only to the department, but to the community that he served,” said Michael Gornyiczki, Stratford’s deputy fire chief.
Mavity spent nearly 30 years with the Stratford Fire Department, including the last seven as lieutenant. Colleagues describe him as ‘the ultimate officer’.
“There’s a huge hole in the Stratford fire service today with the loss of John,” said Gornyiczki.
Kevin Aitcheson of the Stratford Professional Firefighters Association says he’ll remember Mavity as a family man.
“He was a wonderful father to his children,” said Aitcheson.
“I always thought John set the bar for what a father-son-and-daughter relationship should be.”
Mavity’s name will be the seventh added to a monument commemorating Stratford firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
