The father of a N.W.T. firefighter who died last weekend remembers his son as a kind, courageous person whose greatest passion was being a dad.
Adam Yeadon, 25, was killed on Saturday while battling a fire near his home community of Fort Liard, around 35 kilometers north of the B.C. border. The firefighter was a member of the Acho Dene Koe First Nation.
Yeadon’s father, Jack Yeadon, said his son was a helpful person who had a “gigantic” passion for woodland firefighting.
“When Adam was engaged there was no stopping him,” he said. “I know he was engaged, I know he was thrilled.
Jack said his son first started training to be a firefighter as soon as he turned 18.
“(He loved) the entire way of life, all these things considered. Getting on gear, putting on hard hats, strapping up, grunt work, chucking things on the helicopter so he can get the hell out of the fire. He had the adrenaline for that,” he said.
Jack said among his son’s many accomplishments, fatherhood was his biggest achievement. He last saw his son pushing his two-year-old daughter in a stroller in front of his house.
“I think he was pretty focused on being a young papa,” he said. “When he came around my house asking to babysit, those are tender times for me.”
Yeadon is the second woodland firefighter to die in just a matter of days. His death follows 19-year-old Devyn Gale who died on July 13. The young woman was killed from a falling tree while brush-clearing near a fire outside of Revelstoke, B.C. Her death is now under investigation by multiple agencies.
The territorial government did not respond to APTN’s request for comment on Yeadon’s death.
While it has yet to publicly confirm Yeadon’s identity or his manner of death, Jack said officials confirmed a tree had fallen on his son while he was working with a chainsaw.
“They confirmed to me that he did not see it coming, which means the tree or whatever was coming from behind,” he said.
As tributes to the fallen firefighter continue to roll out from across the country, Jack said he wants people to know his son died with happiness and peace in his heart.
“Adam was thrilled with his life and the things that he did.”
