Greater Victoria firefighters help fund tool to keep newborns alive

A group of Greater Victoria firefighters has blown past a fundraising goal for sick kids on Vancouver Island.

Professional Firefighters of Greater Victoria (PFGV) delivered a cheque for $45,433 to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation on Tuesday, exceeding its annual pledge of $25,000.

“So many of our members have had family members land in Victoria General Hospital here in the NICU or the pediatrics unit,” said Drew Coleman with the PFGV.

“That experience really motivates people to commit to a cause like this.”

The donation will help pay for a new infant Panda warmer at Vic Gen in View Royal. The specialized crib monitors newborns’ vital signs and maintains their temperature, supporting the transition from the womb.

Emily Aldridge said Panda warmers helped keep her identical twins alive when she delivered them at 31 weeks. She said each boy fit in the palm of her hand.

“They were too small for this world, both weighing three pounds, maybe just a little bit over,” Aldridge said.

“In those first fragile moments, those devices held our babies when we couldn’t, and for this I am eternally grateful.”

Her sons, Cooper and Jack, will be five in August.

Amelia Webb, 12, has been a pediatric patient at VGH for nearly three weeks. She met some of the firefighters during Tuesday’s cheque presentation.

“Everyone needs help,” Webb said. “For kiddos like me, some of us have difficult mental health issues and donations will really, really help.”

In 2011, PFGV made a commitment to donate $250,000 to the hospital foundation over 10 years. It has since renewed that pledge, committing to raising another $250,000.

As charities around the region report a drop in donations due to the cost of living, 2026 marks the second year in a row that PFGV has surpassed its fundraising goal.

The money comes from its annual calendar campaign.

“The fact that people were willing to get behind this cause to purchase the calendars and that we had the community partners to help push the calendars for sale and get them out there into people’s hands was extraordinary,” Coleman said.