Richard Gietz was a volunteer at the Cumberland Village Fire Station number 72. He joined the Department in 1977. Richard was promoted to Lieutenant in 2001 and was still a member of the Ottawa Fire services when he died.

Richard was an Engineer. He worked at the Ottawa-Carleton Region sewage plant. He left R.M.O.C. and drove school bus for Laidlaw. Over the last couple of years he worked at Home Depot at the corner of Innes Road and Tenth Line. In the spring of 2007 he wasn't feeling well. After a number of tests were done it was determined that he had evidence of asbestos in his lungs. This was attributed to responding to emergencies where asbestos was present.