Capt. John Wilcox is being remembered as an amazing teacher, friend and colleague — and one heck of a firefighter.
The retired Barrie Fire and Emergency Service firefighter died Nov. 23, 2023, after fighting a courageous battle with occupational cancer for the past year. He was 69.
Barrie Fire Chief Cory Mainprize had known Wilcox for 24 years, and worked with him for 14 of those years. Even after Wilcox retired from the department, the two stayed in touch.
“We were never on the same platoon or at the same hall, but I’d certainly call him a friend," Mainprize said. "John’s the definition of a good person. He was compassionate and made people feel good about themselves. He took interest in people and he was an easy person to talk to.”
Wilcox just made everything and everyone around him better, the chief added.
“He made the place better. He made the organization better and he made the people he worked with better and he made it better for our community," Mainprize said. "He truly cared about people and wanted to do a good job."
'Great teacher'
Wilcox was Platoon Chief Kevin White’s first captain when he joined the fire service in 1998.
“That was very exciting for me,” said White, who also serves as president of the Barrie Professional Fire Fighters Association.
White and Wilcox worked together on and off for about five years.
“I certainly learned a lot from him … he was a great teacher,” White added.
After retiring from the department in 2014, Wilcox continued to work for Georgian College as a faculty member in its pre-service firefighter education and training program, which White noted was a natural transition for his former captain.
“In the fire business, he was always really good and volunteered a lot of time outside of work to help volunteer firefighters in the county,” he said, adding his particular expertise was in automobile extrication.
“That was John’s specialty and he taught that at the college. He was a great guy, a great captain and a great father to his two kids that would come around the hall sometimes. It’s funny to see them all grown up because they’re still 10 years old in my mind.”
Wilcox’s career in firefighting started on the Simcoe County Rescue Squad Unit 15 and as a volunteer for the Town of Innisfil Fire Department, noted an online obituary. After two years as a full-time firefighter with North York Fire Department, Wilcox joined Barrie Fire in 1990. He was promoted to the rank of captain five years later.
Life outside the fire hall
In addition to firefighting, Wilcox had a huge passion for beekeeping, and was an avid beekeeper for 18 years.
“(He) was always excited if someone asked a question about bees. It could easily turn into a lengthy discussion on everything you needed to know about bees and the honey process," stated his obituary. "He was the proud owner, operator and employee of Simcoe County Honey.”
Music was also an important part of the late firefighter’s life, having learned to play the trumpet when he was 10, and playing with the Georgetown Citizen Band at the age of 12.
“John’s trumpet-playing career included playing The Last Post at Remembrance Day services every year since (he was) a teenager, being part of the heart-throb cover band Station House for 12 years, and the Barrie Concert Band,” added the obituary.
But being a firefighter was a calling for his old boss, said White.
“I know John had had a couple other careers before … and when he had the opportunity to become a firefighter, he jumped at it. I remember meeting him when I was a young volunteer firefighter in Barrie and he was just so passionate about his craft," he said. "When he became my first captain, he was so excited to be able to share what he’d already learned.”
Wilcox's death will leave a large gap in the world of firefighting, added White.
“We will pick up those pieces and try to move on and hold him tight in our memory,” he said.
Occupational illness
Wilcox was diagnosed about a year ago with pancreatic cancer, said White, adding his friend’s health went down hill pretty quickly. Wilcox’s illness has been deemed an “occupational illness,” confirmed White, explaining in Ontario there are currently 19 cancers that are automatically related to an individual’s occupation as a firefighter when they are diagnosed.
“That has been designated by the Ontario government. We are, in some cases, way more prone to getting some of these cancers,” he said, noting pancreatic and thyroid cancer were only added to that list last year. “Because they’ve been added now, if you develop those cancers you’re automatically covered. You used to kind of have to fight for it, but now we have enough evidence to know that this is because you’re a firefighter.”
Having recognition of the various types of workplace illnesses a firefighter may be diagnosed with is important for a variety of reasons, White added, the first being simply the recognition that the work a person did caused them to die prematurely.
“That recognition is important for our families to know that they gave their life to their job. Not everyone that dies in the line of duty dies in a heroic way in a fire. Some die over time, like unfortunately John did.”
It also allows the firefighter’s family to get coverage from WSIB, noted White, as well as a memorial grant through the federal government.
“The family is left holding the bills and moving on without their firefighter, so (this way) they have a little bit of compensation to help them with that," he added.
Even though things have come a long way over the decades, the fight is not entirely over.
“For many years, we knew the things you were exposed to weren’t good for you," said Mainprize. "The smells, the taste, the five showers later and you can still smell it on yourself … but it no there wasn’t a lot of research done. I think it offers some comfort knowing if they do become ill that their families will be supported.”
The more that is known and the more evidence that has been gathered that shows the work that’s being done relates to various occupational illnesses, the more fire services can work to change procedures and better protect firefighters, the chief added.
“Over the course of my own career, how we approach situations, how we clean ourselves and our equipment, what we even bring back to the fire station and how we store our equipment … we have really tried to put as many different procedures in place to minimize exposures as much as possible,” Mainprize said. “It’s all completely different than how we did it 25 years ago, and all for the better”
A funeral service for Wilcox was held Thursday, Nov. 30 in Barrie and saw first-responders from a variety of different communities come and pay their respects to their fallen comrade.
