Fallen Firefighters Honored
More than 5,000 people honored the lives of 157 firefighters and paramedics who died in the line of duty during the past year at the 27th annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service in Colorado Springs on Sept. 21. As each fallen firefighter’s name was called, a bell was rung and family members were presented with ceremonial folded flags.
Fire Fighters ( IAFF ) President Harold Schaitberger told the crowd:
Today’s service isn’t meant to conjure up again sadness and sorrow. Instead, it’s meant to be a day to honor and remember our fallen, to celebrate their lives and to recognize their service and what they stood for.
The IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial bears the names of 2,808 firefighters who died in the line of duty—protecting their communities on the fire ground, from chronic illnesses linked to firefighting and from toxic exposures to work at the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Read more here and click here to see photos from the service.
