Brought to you by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
EMMITSBURG, Md. — During the 37th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service on Sunday, October 7, 2018, the U.S. Fire Service will pay tribute to the lives of 80 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2017 and 23 firefighters who died in previous years.
The names of the firefighters will be read, and their loved ones will receive an American flag that had been flown above the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and the U.S. Capitol Dome. They will also be presented with a red rose and a special personalized badge. During the ceremony, a bronze plaque bearing the names of the fallen will be officially added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
The service begins at 10:00 a.m. (ET) at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland and is open to the public. These firefighters also will be remembered in a special Candlelight Service at the same location on Saturday, October 6 th at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
“Memorials are created so there will always be a special place to remember and honor our loved ones. In 1981, the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial was created to pay tribute to these men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Chief Dennis Compton, Chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Board of Directors. “Everyone who visits the memorial pauses to not only honor the fallen firefighters, but to also honor the strength and courage of their loved ones.”
Members of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus will present 103 American flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol to the NFFF during a brief ceremony on Thursday, October 4th at 10:30 a.m. (ET) in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building. The flags will be displayed in the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel until the memorial service on Sunday when they will be presented to the families.
More than 5,000 people, including families, friends, firefighters, members of Congress, and Administration officials are expected to attend on Sunday. Firefighter Honor Guards and Pipe & Drum units from across the U.S. will participate in this national remembrance.
NFFF provides live satellite feed and streaming of ceremonies along with video of events for downloading courtesy of VISTA Worldlink. For a complete list of fallen firefighters being honored, and a widget to display their information on your website, go to http://live.firehero.org. There, you will also find Memorial Weekend streaming information, videos, photos, and satellite coordinates.
For more information about the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, go to www.firehero.org.