Oakville community mourns loss of beloved Fire Captain to occupational cancer

Flags have been lowered to half-mast today in Oakville to honour the life of Capt. Stuart Campbell of the Oakville Fire Department. Capt. Campbell devoted more than 30 years to his craft, knowing full well it might one day take his life.

Campbell passed away on Sunday following a courageous battle with occupational cancer. He began his career in 1992 and was promoted to Fire Captain almost 20 years later.

Campbell’s leadership and influence on the Oakville Fire Department was honoured in a full ceremony.

First responders from all over Ontario marched in honour of the life and legacy of Capt. Campbell.

The cancer that took his life is considered to be an occupational danger of the job. This means he died in the line of duty and was given a full ceremonial send-off.

“The reality is occupational cancer is affecting more and more firefighters, and it is certainly a hazard to the job for sure,” said Chief Paul Boissoneault of the Oakville Fire Department.

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Boissoneault says in order for his team to participate today, crews from Burlington and Mississauga covered all emergency duties — their way of honouring the 33 years Capt. Campbell served his community.

“In the 33 years, the evolution of occupational health and safety equipment for firefighters and the science and knowledge associated with firefighting has changed. We are better than 33 years ago,” said Boissoneault.

CHCH News was invited to the ceremony for Capt. Campbell. We heard a lot of positive things like he was a dedicated firefighter, he loved dad jokes, and even when he was nearing the end of his life because of his occupational cancer, he never regretted the job.

Those who were mentored by Capt. Campbell knew this well, including using his humour to train new recruits.

“He was the kinda guy that would just sit back and kinda let you stumble a bit, then right before you fall, he’d come in and catch you, make a big joke about it. Show you how it should have been done in the first place,” said Capt. Jason Corazza.

One of the most moving parts of the ceremony was the dedication from his daughter Lexi. She says the world was lucky to have him, and she’s lucky he passed down his sense of humour.

Many funny and touching stories were shared at today’s funeral. The Campbell family was honoured with a survivor’s medal recognizing the sacrifices made for service.

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