Jay Zimmermann and Trevor Tougas are the latest local firefighters to grace the Hall of Flame calendar.
The annual Hall of Flame calendar raises funds for the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association Burn Fund, the CKNW Orphans Fund and the Vancouver Firefighters Charitable Society. Zimmermann kicks off the year in January, while Tougas makes an appearance in August 2014.
"I enjoy working with the community and volunteering and helping good causes," Zimmermann told The Record. "I guess I am not shy about a little spotlight."
Tougas found the photo shoot to be the most nerve-wracking part of the process, but the photographers were professionals and guided nervous firefighters through the modeling session.
"I just saw the calendar for the first time today," he told The Record Sept. 6. "I was happy."
Before long, the calendar will be gracing walls in homes - and likely a fire hall or two. The calendar often comes with some ribbing from fellow firefighters.
"It's good. You get the general teasing in fun, of course," Tougas said. "It's been really good - everyone knows it's for a good cause."
Earlier this year, calendar organizers put out a call for firefighters interested in applying for the 2014 calendar. Neither man knew the other had applied, but both made it through a selection night that was held at a Vancouver nightclub earlier this year.
"The shirts came off," Zimmermann said. "They voted."
Zimmermann and Tougas have both been working for New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services for about a year and a half.
"We were in the same class," Zimmermann noted. "There was some pretty strenuous testing to get on. We were already in top shape."
Because the men are already committed to staying fit, they didn't need to do any special preparation for their modeling gig. A number of New Westminster firefighters have graced the pages of the Hall of Flame calendar through the years, but it's been about eight years since the Royal City was represented in the calendar.
In addition to encouragement from fellow firefighters, Zimmermann and Tougas will likely get a bit of razzing around the fire hall.
While he was a "little nervous" about getting in the calendar, Zimmermann has enjoyed the camaraderie that comes along with attending various promotional events with the other firefighters featured in the 2014 calendar.
"It's a pretty long-running fundraiser. It's the 27th year of it," Tougas said. "They have raised more than a million dollars to date. All the proceeds go to charity."
The calendar's official launch at a pub in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 7 included a silent auction, with people bidding on a night out with the firefighters appearing in the 2014 calendar.
Zimmermann and Tougas have both enjoyed their modeling assignment with the Hall of Flame calendar but have no plans to give up their day jobs.
"It's been great," Tougas said of being a firefighter. "I had always hoped it would be a dream come true - and it has."
The Hall of Flame calendar is available at select London Drugs, Save-On-Foods and PriceSmart stores in the Lower Mainland, as well as online at vancouverfirefighters.ca. The Vancouver Firefighters Charitable Society designs, produces and distributes the calendar each year, with the help of private sector sponsors and volunteers.
