{"id":9939,"date":"2019-03-22T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=9939"},"modified":"2019-03-22T11:00:12","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T14:00:12","slug":"updated-firefighter-skyler-blackie-remembered-fondly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=9939","title":{"rendered":"UPDATED: Firefighter Skyler Blackie remembered fondly"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WAVERLEY: <\/strong>Skyler Blackie is being remembered as a favourite among parents and kids as a camp counsellor at the WJCC.<\/p>\n

Blackie, a former Fall River volunteer firefighter with Station 45 who was now a career firefighter with the Truro Fire Service, passed away March 20 as a result of his injuries from a training incident on March 9. It occurred at the N.S. Fire School in Waverley.<\/p>\n

Skyler had signed up to be an organ donor, so as his obituary says \u201chis legacy and strength will live on in others.\u201d<\/p>\n

A regimental funeral service will be held in Skyler\u2019s memory on March 30, beginning at 11 a.m. at Colchester Legion Stadium in Truro. If so desired, donations in Skyler\u2019s memory to Colchester SPCA or Prostate Cancer Canada are welcomed.<\/p>\n

Daniel MacKenzie of Fall River remembers when he was a Junior Leader and camper at the Windsor Junction Community Centre, and Skyler was a counsellor there.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always one of everyone\u2019s favourite among parents and kids,\u201d said MacKenzie. \u201cA memory of mine that I will never forget was when \u201cI Kissed a Girl\u201d by Katy Perry first came out and it was on the radio. Skyler was the first one and the loudest to start singing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the funniest guy around when it came to pulling pranks and doing back flips off the fence into the sand pit or losing a bet to lick home plate.<\/p>\n

MacKenzie is sad at the news of what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be missed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his time as a lifeguard at the WJCC, his and his fellow lifeguards were recognized for their efforts in a fatal medical emergency in 2008. They were recognized by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for showing remarkable organization, courage, and skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are heartbroken for his family and friends over this tragic loss,\u201d the WJCC posted on their FB page on March 21.<\/p>\n

In his obituary, it says he was born in Kingston, Ont., and graduated from Lockview High in 2009. He was a certified life guard and received a medal for his life saving efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cA volunteer firefighter since the age of 18, he was trained through Halifax Regional Fire, and served as a Lieutenant with Station 45 in Fall River,\u201d the obituary reads.<\/p>\n

He began his career as a firefighter with Truro Fire Service on October 1, 2013.<\/p>\n

Blackie, 28, was \u201ccharismatic, funny, outgoing and a kind individual who touched everybody\u2019s heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs lead of the charitable committee for the fire hall, he generously shared his efforts to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer, participating yearly in \u201cMovember,\u201d the obituary continued. \u201cHe enjoyed fitness and built the gym at the fire hall and instilled his passion with others through personal training.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough Skyler had a passion for firefighting and fitness, his passion and love for Erin and building a life with her was immeasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skyler\u2019s K9 companion, Bella, held a special place in his heart.<\/p>\n

The obituary gives special thanks to the doctors and nurses in the Intensive Care Unit at the New Halifax Infirmary, QEII and to the firefighters and community in Truro, across the province and beyond for their tremendous love and support.<\/p>\n

The Town of Truro made a post on their Facebook Page on March 20 saying Skyler will be missed by all who he touched.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruro has lost a young, outgoing, charismatic man who will be missed deeply by his wife, his family, his family of firefighters, his friends and co-workers,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n

Scott Squires of Truro said he didn\u2019t know Blackie very long, but he knew right away he was a great guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impression he left with me will last the rest of my life,\u201d said Squires in a tweet. \u201cHe was a good person. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lived next door to Blackie for a short time when he moved to Truro.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkyler was an exceptionally friendly and outgoing young man,\u201d he said. \u201cHe always took time to say hello and he was so excited and thrilled to be a firefighter. When I read his name (as the firefighter that died), it moved me to tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement issued by Jessica Gillis, Skyler’s sister on behalf of the family, they thank everyone for their support during this difficult time.<\/p>\n

“On behalf of the Blackie family, we would like to thank the Truro and Halifax fire services for their support during this challenging time,” the statement reads. “We also are so appreciative of the professional care Skyler received from the ICU nurses, doctors, and staff at the QEII Health Sciences Centre \u2013 Halifax Infirmary Site.<\/p>\n

“We want to also thank the community at large for their prayers and support; they have not gone unnoticed.”<\/p>\n

The family has asked for privacy as they grieve.<\/p>\n

“As you can appreciate, our family is devastated by the huge void that now exists in our lives,” said Gillis in the statement. “As such, we asking for privacy while we grieve this loss.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WAVERLEY: Skyler Blackie is being remembered as a favourite among parents and kids as a camp counsellor at the WJCC. Blackie, a former Fall River volunteer firefighter with Station 45 who was now a career firefighter with the Truro Fire Service, passed away March 20 as a result of his injuries from a training incident […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[2,61,394,395,396],"class_list":["post-9939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-fall-river","tag-firefighter","tag-remembered","tag-skyler-blackie","tag-truro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}