Firefighting a common post-hockey career for 67’s alum
During their playing careers, Corey Cowick, Keith Wynn, and Chris Despatis were hockey heroes on the ice, spending time with the Ottawa 67’s. Now, they’re heroes in the community, putting their lives on the line with Ottawa Fire.
Cowick, now a firefighter at Ottawa’s Station 13 in Sandy Hill, says he wasn’t sure what his career would look like when he did eventually hang up the skates, but giving back to the community was always an important aspect for him. He never said no to a school visit, especially in Ottawa, where he felt an extra sense of duty for his hometown.
As he moved into professional hockey and became a veteran in the American Hockey League, he knew he was hanging onto his playing days. A drop to the ECHL preceded a season in Scotland, where the idea of becoming a firefighter was kickstarted.
“We had a couple of guys on our team who had taken their pre-service program, and I bounced some ideas off them,” Cowick said. “I started my online portion of it while I was in Scotland. I did all my theory online, and I went down to Texas after that.”
Across sports, it’s commonplace for former high-level athletes to become firefighters. It combines many of the things team sports require, and at Station 11 on Preston Street, Wynn has tried to leverage those elements to recruit new firefighters.
“Over the years, I’ve definitely tried to recruit guys that I’ve played hockey with because I know they fit in so well,” he said. “It’s a brotherhood. The hockey world is a pretty night tight-knit community, and the fire service is jam-packed with guys who played hockey at various levels, and it makes the fire brotherhood.”
Despatis, who now works at Station 53 in Orleans, didn’t get into firefighting until later in life. He was a special constable with the Ottawa Police before making the switch, but becoming a firefighter was always a dream of his.
He put himself through the required schooling, which he admits was an entirely different grind than he was accustomed to, but it has been among the most rewarding experiences of his life.
“Being a firefighter, in all honesty, is the greatest job on Earth,” Despatis said. “I couldn’t do anything different. It’s very much like sports, where you have a group of people, men and women, that have a common goal and are very professional about it.”
It’s a big weekend for first responders in Ottawa, as the Siren Series – an annual event pitting Ottawa Fire against Ottawa Police in a winner-take-all hockey game – is happening this Saturday.
Following the conclusion of the 67’s game against the Kingston Frontenacs, the fire department will look to take a 2-1 series lead over the police, and earn bragging rights as they respond to calls together for the next year.
Though none of Cowick, Wynn, or Despatis will be suiting up this year, they’re all plugged in, rooting for their colleagues to pull out a much-desired victory.
“It’s something we all look forward to every year,” Wynn said. “There’s pride on the line, and I know all the guys that are playing for us this year are going to do a great job. They’re going to work as hard as they can to make sure that we stay on the winning side of it all. The more W’s on our side, the better.”
Your ticket to the 67’s and Frontenacs game will gain you entry to the Siren Series Game, which is set to begin shortly following the final buzzer. Tickets are still available here.
