A Fort McMurray Deputy Fire Chief is finding solace in one of the most heavily damaged parts of the city.
Cranley Ryan’s daughter Emily died in a crash on Highway 881 alongside her cousin, Aaron Hodgson, while escaping the devastating wildfire last year.
The firefighter will eventually sit in a city park in Beacon Hill built partly in their honour.
In the pouring rain, Cranley held his wife Melanie’s hand Tuesday.
The two stood in the path of ‘the Beast’, Melanie wearing Ryan’s work jacket, overlooking the city.
“It just feels right,” he said, and Melonie agreed. “It just feels like this is where it’s meant to be.”
Dep. Chief Cranley Ryan finds solace in one of the most heavily damaged areas of #ymm at the site of a park to honour his late daughter. pic.twitter.com/wQHJhUDjba
— Crystal Laderas (@CrisLaderas) May 3, 2017
The couple were first hoping for a park bench, but the spot overlooking the city will be part of a combined memorial, both for firefighters and for Emily and Aaron.
“Even now with nothing built, you stand there and you can feel this peace,” Melanie said.
“It already is offering that to us and it doesn’t even have a park name yet.”
From the park, Responders Way and Fire Hall #1 will be visible and everyone driving south on Highway 63 will have a good view of the memorial.
Cranley says his 15-year-old daughter was a great hugger.
“The way she’d slide in and kind of come in as a dive and then just slide her arms around you almost, and capture you in a big bear hug,” he said.
“That was my favourite spot, I think. I’d love when she’d do that.”
Family and comrades at the fire hall got him through a difficult year.
“The more you help others and they respond and say ‘that helps me’ — it helps you carry on and be stronger,” Cranley said.
Melanie calls it a final stage for Emily, who wanted to be a “great actress.”
The space will also be home for an art installation and monument.
The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 165, unveiled plans for the project commemorating the efforts made to save our region and to show the resilience of our community.
The maquette, a small scale mock-up of the final piece, will be unveiled on June 1.
-With files from Melanie Walsh
