DIONNE WALKER
Firehouse.com News

Photo by Capt. Rock Rioux Friends say that Mr. Vendette was a real bicycle lover; in the summer he rode to work every day, a 25 to 30 km run. He was also unbeatable on a dance floor.

Montreal firefighter Gérald Vendette, 50, a 24-year veteran of the Saint Leonard Fire Department died Sunday, following massive chest injuries sustained after being pinned between a lamp post and a fire truck. Fire officials have called it a freak accident.

Vendette was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, said Captain Rock Rioux of the Saint Leonard Fire Department. His death marks the first line-of-duty casualty in the department’s history. He leaves behind a wife, a son, an expectant daughter and two grandchildren.

Rioux said Vendette and three other firefighters were responding to a report of a delivery truck fire in a yard at 11:30 p.m. While the others were fighting the fire, Vendette had remained near the truck, pumping water from a reservoir, Rioux said.

Somehow the truck unexpectedly lurched forward, pinning Vendette to a nearby lamp post, Rioux said. A passerby noticed the accident and alerted the other firefighters, who had to push the truck to free their comrade.

"He was in bad shape," Rioux said. " We’re guessing that he did try to get inside the truck to stop it."

The accident remains under investigation, but fire officials suspect the vehicle may have been in gear, enabling it to roll forward, he said.

"It was either a defect of the truck or a mistake he made," Rioux said, pointing out that Vendette was an experienced engineer.

Rioux said Vendette was a friendly yet reserved man, described as "the quietest person of them all." He had a passion for skiing and was also involved in a number of volunteer activities.

On the day of his death, his daughter and two grandchildren had visited Vendette to wish him a happy father’s day, Rioux said.

"He was friends with everybody," Rioux said. "He loved his job and he was good at it."

For more information, contact the Saint Leonard Fire Department at 514-328-8390.

The viewing for Gérald Vendette will be held on Thursday, June 21, from 2 pm until 5 pm and from 7 pm to 10 pm at the St. Leonard Municipal Library, 8420 Lacordaire Blvd.

The funeral will be held on Friday, June 22 at 11 a.m., St. Leonard Church, 5525 Jarry St., East.

The funeral procession will form in front of the municipal library on Lacordaire Blvd around 9:30 a.m. To participate, use Viau Blvd (north exit) or Jean-Nicolet or des Galets. The procession will follow Lacordaire Blvd going south and then split off to the left onto Jarry Street, where the church is located. Several area roads will be blocked to traffic.