Flathead Unit Crew raises over $3,600 in Matthew Hutchinson’s memory.
Matthew Hutchinson was a member of the Flathead Unit Crew during the 2015 wildfire season. He had a passion for firefighting as demonstrated in his work with the BCWS along with his volunteerism as a structural firefighter in the United States. He is fondly remembered by crews for his hard work and positive attitude on the fire line.
The Flathead Unit Crew worked together to fundraise for the B.C. Professional Firefighters Burn Fund in Matthew’s memory. The unit crew sold commemorative t-shirts raising over $2000 to donate to this worthwhile charity.
In the spirit of Hutch’s passion for Hockey, the crew created a commemorative patch to be worn on their uniforms, taken from a tradition of sports teams. The Hutch patch sits above the Flathead Unit Crew patch on the crew’s reds and is a great reminder to Hutch’s contribution to the crew.
Matthew had an extremely high aspiration to become a structural firefighter, he did a lot of volunteering firefighting in Geneseo NY, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind he had what it takes. As you may have noticed, many fondly called him ‘Hutch’. Having been on many high level sports team, he knew how to be a team member and fit into our crew very quickly and very well. He had a bigger than life attitude, highly entertaining, big bright smile.
A memorial brick within the Walk of Flame leading up to the entrance of the Burn Fund Centre in Vancouver will be engraved with “In Loving Memory of Matthew “Hutch” Hutchinson”.
