Morgan Kitchen nurtured a “protective spirit” that led him to sacrifice his life defending Jasper from a furious wildfire, hundreds mourning the Calgarian heard Saturday.
The man’s sister Katie told those gathered to remember Kitchen at the Centre St. Church that her older brother looked after her, a quality that carried on to his role as a wildland firefighter.
“That protective spark … led him to join the military and become a firefighter,” she said.
“He wanted to be where the action was, always.”
Outside, a haze of wildfire smoke hung in the Calgary air, a lingering reminder of the danger Kitchen and his colleagues constantly faced.
Kitchen, 24, died Aug. 3 after a tree fell on him as worked on the Jasper Wildfire Complex whose flames ultimately destroyed 30 per cent of the Rocky Mountain resort town.
He was pronounced dead as he was being transferred to an air ambulance — the only fatality resulting from the Jasper fires.
Some of the flames Kitchen and his colleagues battled were described as voracious, climbing 100 metres into the air.
On Saturday, dozens of his fellow firefighters dressed in their distinctive yellow shirts gathered to pay tribute at Kitchen’s regimental funeral where the fallen firefighter was saluted by a pair of aerial ladders hoisting British and Canadian flags outside the church.
That honoured not only Kitchen’s role as a firefighter but his stints in the Canadian Armed Forces and Britain’s Royal Marines.
His father Rob emotionally recalled his son as “honest, trustworthy, an adventurer, a warrior, always present for people … he sacrificed his chance to be an uncle, a grandfather, he sacrificed his future promise.”
“Mack was like a great fire burning bright — he loved furiously, he lived courageously.”
Standing near her son’s casket that was adorned with a Canadian flag and his red firefighting helmet, Kitchen’s mother Joni Avram said the young man “had guts and will of steel, cared intensely and lived life 100 per cent.”
But even knowing the dangers he faced battling wildfires, Avram said she backed her son’s determination to follow that path.
“People asked me about Mack’s work — well, he didn’t live in my basement,” she told mourners.
“I cheered for him and I didn’t fear for him … he came into the world in a medical emergency and left as a medical emergency.”
Kitchen’s talent as a musician came through in a musical video played during the service in which he strummed a guitar to a song he’d written.
Photos flashed in front of mourners showed Kitchen goofing off with fellow firefighters and flying to hot spots aboard a helicopter.
Family members also recalled his sense of humour, athletic talent and keen intellect.
But his older sister Chloe said it was his final role in life that will leave a powerful legacy.
“Morgan helped countless people not lose their homes, their livelihoods and their lives,” she said.
“He was taken too soon but it can’t be said he didn’t live life to the fullest.”
Meanwhile in Jasper National Park, Kitchen’s fellow firefighters are continuing to risk their lives battling blazes whose threat has diminished due to their work and rainy conditions.
On Saturday, the wildfire was finally classified by Parks Canada as being held and no longer-out-of-control.
Some of the work being carried out is the removal of trees that pose a safety hazard, Parks Canada said in a press release issued Friday.
“Danger trees around key infrastructure in the park are being identified and removed. A feller buncher is working along roadways to ensure trees won’t fall onto vehicles,” they stated.
Residents and business-owners on Friday returned to the Jasper townsite for the first time since they were evacuated late last month.
