Every second Sunday of September, communities across Canada pause to honour the courage and sacrifice of first responders for Firefighter’s National Memorial Day.

Flags at all federal, provincial and municipal buildings will fly at half-mast to commerate the nations’s fallen firefighters.

The Saskatoon Fire Department will mark the day with a tribute at 10am Sunday. Crews at all nine city stations will stand at attention during a moment of silence.

Saskatoon Fire Chief Doug Wegren says a relatively small number of firefighters die on the job, but the health impacts come later in life.

Wegren says over the years, the nature of the job has changed with more drug overdose calls.

There are approximately 300 firefighters in Saskatoon.