Following an uplifting gathering, Parksville Fire Rescue and Wounded Warriors Karen Petraschuk leaves downtown Parksville enroute to Nanaimo.

By Ian Holmes

Making a difference

Parksville Wounded Warriors runner receives hero’s welcome 

Feb 27, 2026 | 5:50 PM

PARKSVILLE — Well over halfway through an impactful relay run, a Parksville Fire Rescue member broke down in response to a strong outpouring of support.  

Parksville Fire Rescue’s Karen Petraschuk is one of eight Wounded Warriors Canada runners on an 800 kilometer, eight day trek in support Vancouver Island trauma-exposed emergency responders and military veterans. 

Dozens of her firefighter colleagues and numerous community members crammed into Parksville’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 49 on Hirst Ave. W on the morning of Friday, Feb. 27. 

Local financial contributions featured Parksville Fire Rescue members generously providing over $6,100, while the Oceanside Generals raised nearly $2,100 following a recent charity hockey game.  

Karen Petraschuk speaking to reporters outside Parksville Royal Canadian Legion Branch 49 in downtown Parksville on Friday, Feb. 27. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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“It has been overwhelming coming in here, I knew it was going to be an emotional day — just seeing the members here and how much they’ve supported me, but also just the cause,” Petraschuk told reporters.  

Approaching her third year as a paid-on-call Parksville Fire Rescue member, Petraschuk welled up in tears after seeing such widespread support in Parksville on Friday.  

An avid runner whose mental health journey included recovering from her father’s passing, Petraschuk said running has had a calming influence on her life for most of her life. 

Wounded Warriors Canada visiting the Parksville Legion two years ago was the clincher for Petraschuk; she knew she wanted to be part of the relay team. 

“I was immediately inspired to join, just because I was now part of fire (Parksville Fire Rescue) but also my running background since I was a teenager and just my own struggle with mental health.” 

Petraschuk applauded Parksville Rescue’s advancements in recent years to pay attention to the mental health impacts accompanied to responding to difficult tasks.

She expects to run about 100 kilometres in total by the time the relay is scheduled to wrap up in Victoria on Sunday, March 1. 

Petraschuk said she was moved by the amount of money her Parksville Fire Rescue colleagues parted with to support the Wounded Warriors Canada cause. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Parksville Fire Rescue chief Marc Norris began his fire service career 36 years ago in an era when work-related mental health trauma was brushed aside.  

“We’ve evolved, we have a better understanding, we’ve learned and we ‘re getting there, but there’s still work to do and that’s what Wounded Warriors is all about, providing services and building that understanding and resiliency,” Norris said. 

Exposure to traumatic events leads to a process of monitoring and identifying what types of supports Parksville Fire Rescue members may require, Norris said. 

If needed, clinical professionals are brought into the hall, while Norris said counselling and other programming to assist members with trauma exposures can also be arranged. 

Dr. Tim Black is a registered psychologist in B.C. and the national clinical director for Wounded Warriors Canada.  

He said many frontline emergency response organizations across the country are short-staffed, in part, because workers are sidelined from trauma-related injuries. 

He said the ramifications of responding to a catastrophic motor vehicle incident, for example, simply can’t be ignored.

“These are just injuries like anything else, like a physical injury, because exposure to these really hard things affects us physiologically,” Dr. Black said. 

He spoke to the importance of realizing emergency responders and military personnel aren’t prone to “special mental health issues,” but rather are exposed to known and expected occupational hazards.  

“If they get injured, we don’t have them, we’re all in trouble. We want to make sure that they’re taken care of so they don’t get injured taking care of us,” Dr. Black said.

All funds raised through the Wounded Warriors Canada relay on Vancouver Island stays on the Island, Dr. Black noted.  

Donations to the cause can be made online here. 

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