Ryan Reesor is being mourned by family and friends after the veteran firefighter and arborist succumbed to injuries after a fall from a tree this week.
The 45-year-old Springwater Township resident died Wednesday afternoon after falling approximately 50 feet from a tree on a property in Oro-Medonte, north of Barrie. Reesor was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency crews responded to a property on Huronwoods Drive, which is located between Coulson and Horseshoe Valley, around 1 p.m. on May 17.
While the Ministry of Labour, Ontario Provincial Police and the coroner are still investigating, his family is grieving what his wife called “an amazing man.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up following Reesor’s death to honour his “incredible legacy.”
Reesor’s family includes wife Amy, as well as children Anna and Anson.
Amy said she was not ready to speak about this week’s tragedy, but did provide many details about her husband.
“Thank you for taking the time to celebrate the life of my husband. He was an amazing man,” she said.
Reesor graduated from Humber College’s pre-service fire program and worked for many years with his parents at their family business, Ox Narrows Lodge, in the Minden area. He also built homes and provided tree services across the province.
He dedicated more than half of his life to the service of others, including 27 years in the fire service with Algonquin Highlands and the City of Toronto as a firefighter, captain, chief of training and technical specialist and expert in rope rescue, confined space, swift-water, and auto extrication.
Amy described her husband as a leader and mentor in both fire departments as well as a caring and compassionate first responder, ensuring the patients he worked with, especially at medical calls, were treated with warmth, respect and dignity.
Friends and family say Reesor loved his job and the people he worked with, cherishing the shared conversations, laughter and memories. He also considered his colleagues to be his second family.
Amy says he cared deeply for the communities in which he lived and worked, and was always available to help a friend or neighbour.
She says he was always active, whether it was building something or fixing it, cooking for his family or at the fire hall, and drawing with his daughter or building Lego with his son. The GoFundMe page says he was “the most incredible father to have ever walked this earth.”
Reesor also cherished the close relationships he had with his parents and sister, Amy said.
He recently continued his education at Toronto Metropolitan University, completing a certificate in disaster and emergency management, and almost finishing his degree in public administration.
Several Facebook posts from friends paint the picture of a man who touched many lives.
One firefighter named Brian Donnelly said in a post that Reesor “made an impact everywhere he went, with everyone who met him,” and that he “changed lives for the better with a simple conversation.”
Donnelly finished by saying, “I probably wouldn’t be a firefighter today without this man, and I will continue to follow in his footsteps trying to be the best man and firefighter I can be.”
Details about a celebration of life for Reesor have not been released.
“Ryan Reesor was the rock of his entire family, the most dependable friend and neighbour, and the most highly trained and expert firefighter,” says the GoFundMe page. “Over his 27 years in firefighting, with both the Toronto Fire Department and the Algonquin Highlands Volunteer Fire Department, Ryan saved countless lives and made a difference in the lives of thousands more.”
The GoFundMe for the Reesor’s family currently sits at more than $54,000.
“This outpouring of love is a testament to all of the lives Ryan has touched,” Emily Brandon, who is Amy’s sister, says on the GoFundMe page. “There are truly no words to describe how much we miss him already.”
