Firefighters compete on the ice to raise money for child burn victims

Nine teams of firefighters laced up their skates to not only compete for a title but raise money for a great cause on Saturday.

The JimmyLou Charity Hockey Tournament is in memory of two prominent members of the Alvinston community who died in 2017.

“Jimmy and Mary Louise Hayter were pillars in this community, everybody knew them,” said Captain Paul Mahovolich, Alvinston Fire Rescue.

Jim Hayter was the community’s deputy mayor and served as fire chief for 15 years. He passed away in a crash just two weeks after his wife Mary Louise was a registered nurse’s assistant and educational assistant passed away.

“Eight years ago we had a tragedy in this community and we decided to make something really good of it,” said Deputy Chief Kris Redick of Brooke-Alvinston Fire Rescue.

“We started this charity tournament in their name and over these eight years we’re just surpassing $80,000 raised. The majority of our funding goes to Camp Bucko which is a burn camp for kids.”

Over the past eight years, they’ve sent more than 75 kids to camp with the money raised.

The Hayter’s son Patrick is a Toronto Fire Fighter and board member of Camp Bucko.

“The only reason we can have a Camp Bucko is through donations and sponsorship,” said Patrick.

“Being a young burn survivor is really hard. They go through a lot of pain and a lot of suffering, and they have to go through surgeries up until they stop growing pretty much. They like to have fun and it’s residential camp for the whole week.”

Camp Bucko, which will celebrate 30 years in 2025, is a camp for child burn victims (Source: Camp Bucko)

Activities include canoeing, kayaking, high ropes, low ropes, climbing wall - everything you do in a normal camp.

With kids from Thunder Bay to Ottawa to Windsor, and everywhere in between it truly is a provincial camp.

“I know there's been three kids from this town (Alvinston) alone have come to Camp Bucko over the years, and it’s a town of a thousand people,” said Patrick.

“Being a board of directors, we go all over Ontario to all sorts of events, whether it be golf tournaments or carwashes, bake sales, quilting, all sorts of stuff. We appreciate every single amount of money, and we know where this is going.”

As Camp Bucko approaches its 30-year anniversary, the firefighters know firsthand the tragedy some of these kids endure.

“I remember one young kid pulled a pot of boiling soup over on him,” said Patrick. “I just remember the pain and that sticks with him.”

Redick, who has been a firefighter for 25 years, has also seen things which no one should see in their lifetime.

“We see these kids, possibly on their worst day of their life,” said Redick.

“Having us being able to raise the funds to send them away to a camp like this and be with other kids that have suffered severe burn injuries, it’s special that they're able to enjoy life and feel like they belong.”

As for the action on the ice, fire departments from Watford, Lambton Shores, Wyoming, Lambton College, Dawn Euphemia, Toronto, Glencoe, New Jersey and Alvinston were all fighting for the Hayter Cup.

Saturday Morning, host Alvinston came from three goals down in the final minutes and won 7-6 over Wyoming Fire on a penalty shot with just one second left in the game.

“Tempers get a little wild out there at times,” said Mahovolich. “We have to reel it back in and realize this is for a great charity event, and we have a lot of fun.”