Former West Kelowna firefighter Capt. Troy “Nipsy” Russell has passed away after battling occupational brain cancer over the past year in hospice.
Kirsten Jones, communications supervisor of the City of West Kelowna says that Russell passed away Tuesday night and that his cancer was attributed to his work as a firefighter for the last 20 years.
“Sometimes firefighters can be exposed to things that can cause cancer like this, it’s very unfortunate. The department is troubled right now. I know that a lot of support was given to Troy in his final days.”
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Russell received his 20 year medal while he was in hospice on Sept. 15, 10 days before he died at a ceremony in a park.
Flags at City hall, municipal services and West Kelowna Fire Rescue Stations are flying at half mast.
Jones says that a memorial service will take place but the details have not been finalized. There will be a public portion if not the whole time due to the public support of “Nipsy”.
Information about the memorial service will be released when it is available.
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