Move over, supermodels and beauty queens: it's time for Vancouver firefighters to own the runway.
On March 1, firefighters featured in the 2013 Hall of Flame calendar will work the catwalk at the inaugural Spring West Coast Womens Show.
Although event attendees can't take a firefighter home with them as a souvenir, they can purchase a copy of the 2013 calendar for $15 before and after the show.
This year marks the 26th edition of the Hall of Flame calendar, which features playfully provocative photos of Metro Vancouver firefighters. "The oldest calendar that I have is from 1988," says Adrian Sherriff, a Vancouver firefighter and chairman of the calendar committee. "There's a lot of mustaches in that one."
Everyone involved in the calendar project is a volunteer, and every single cent benefits a local charity, including the BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund and the CKNW Orphans Fund. To date, the calendar project has raised more than a million dollars for its charities.
Sheriff appeared in the 2012 edition and like, many of the firefighters in the Hall of Flame, he had zero modelling experience heading in. "I worked in construction before I was a firefighter, so I definitely was not used to having my picture taken or being in the limelight," he says with a laugh.
The West Coast Women's Show is Western Canada's largest women's consumer event and runs March 1-3 at the PNE Forum. Visitors can peruse 200 retail booths and interact with DJ Tony Okungbowa (The Ellen Degeneres Show) and soap star Joshua Morrow (The Young & the Restless). More information can be found at WestCoastWomen.net.
