Firefighters and emergency medical personnel from the United States and Canada who perished in the line of duty will be honored at the 26th Annual International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Ceremony on Saturday, September 15.
“This is a profound service for families of the fallen and all members of the IAFF. The firefighters whose names will be etched in stone have paid the ultimate price to keep their communities safe and we must never forget their sacrifice,” International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger said.
The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park, at the corner of Hancock and Pikes Peak avenues. The firefighters and paramedics being honored this year died in the line of duty from June 1, 2011 through June 1, 2012. Some members who died prior to June 1, 2011, but were reported during the past year also will be honored. A complete list of those whose names will be added to the Wall of Honor is online here: http://www.iaff.org/hs/ffm/wall/index.aspx
Other details about the service are here: http://www.iaff.org/hs/ffm/thisyear/index.aspx
The entire memorial service will be streamed live online and can be viewed here:
http://www1.koaa.com/pages/live-stream-test-2/
The IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, with the addition this year of the names of 154 firefighters, will bear the names of 2,651 fallen firefighters who have died since 1976.
“We are always honored to be a part of the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service because it is so important to Local 5, the entire IAFF and the families,” said Jeremy Kroto, president of Colorado Springs Fire Fighters Local 5, whose members care for the Memorial grounds year around.
President Schaitberger will attend the memorial and address families of the fallen.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 300,000 full-time professional firefighters and paramedics and is the leading advocate for the health and safety of first responders. More information is available at www.iaff.org.
