Community mourns death of Deputy Chief Lippers

May 29, 2013 · 0 Comments

There was mourning throughout Caledon over the last week after the death of Deputy Chief Tony Lippers, a member of Caledon Fire and Emergency Services.
Deputy Chief Lippers, 54, died last Wednesday (May 22) with family by his side after a courageous battle with cancer.
The Town lowered the flags at all municipal facilities to half-mast in a salute to the Deputy Chief. The flags remained lowered until sunset of the day of his funeral, which was Tuesday.
Fire Chief Terry Irwin had announced that the service for Deputy Chief Lippers, which was held in Caledon East, would a full fire service Line of Duty Death funeral.
Deputy Chief Lippers had cancer in his esophagus, and it’s believed he got it as a result of his firefighting duties. Thus his death was treated as having come in the line of duty.
Capt. Colin Hanna, training officer with Caledon Fire and Emergency Services, said there is presumptive legislation that lists several types of cancer as being related to the job. It’s a combination of synthetic materials and fabrics that came into use years ago, before modern breathing apparatus was available.
Deputy Chief Lippers served a number of community fire services before joining Caledon Fire and Emergency Services in 2006 as Deputy Chief. Prior to joining the Town, he served as Assistant Fire Chief in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Chief Fire Prevention Officer for the Orillia Fire Department (City of Orillia) and Senior Fire Inspector for the Ajax Fire Department (City of Ajax). He served early in his career as a volunteer firefighter in the communities of Mariposa and Ajax. He was also an accomplished design engineer.
“Tony was a dedicated Deputy Fire Chief with Caledon Fire and Emergency Services, and a contributor to a number of fire service organizations across Ontario,” Irwin said. “He will be sadly missed by many.”
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Tony Lippers

An honour guard, with representation from various fire services, marched through the streets of Caledon East Tuesday morning, accompanying the fire truck carrying the casket of Deputy Chief Tony Lippers.