Honoring Fallen Firefighters in Minnesota

Traveled to Minneapolis/St. Paul over the weekend to participate in the 2nd annual Minnesota Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.

A group of very dedicated fire service leaders in the state set out to create a fitting statewide memorial a few years ago.  Seems they had created a large bronze statue

that was displayed for years in a central location at the Minneapolis airport.  But when the airport was remodeled, the statue was relegated to a hidden corner in the baggage claim area.  They got the state legislature to provide a piece of land on the grounds of the state capitol in St. Paul ( a beautiful capitol campus!).  Then they set out to raise nearly $700,000 to design and create the memorial itself.  It was all built with fire-service raised money.  No grants or handouts from the state.  As you can see from the picture, it is a dramatic memorial.  The vertical poles you see are for each decade and the names and year of death for each of the fallen are engraved on the poles.

One of the most challenging parts of the project, other than raising money, was identifying past Minnesota fallen firefighters.  After lots of hard work and public appeals, they have identified 208 fallen firefighters dating back to the late 1800s.  The next step was to identify the descendents or current family for these men and women who had given their lives.  Last year, after much hard work, the memorial was dedicated with nearly 4,000 in attendence.  A memorial state flag was presented to family/loved ones of 102 of the fallen in that initial service.  Another 7 families were recognized this year.  There are still 99 families to be found.  10 or so are for deaths that occurred since 1965, but 89 are from prior to 1965....so it is a real detective story to track down these folks.

The Minnesota Fire Service Foundation and the members of the MN fire service have created something very special here.  It was a blessing to have the opportunity to be there and help out.  I did some media prior to the service

- talking about the memorial, it's value to surviving family members, and the search for additional family members.  I also had the chance to give a brief keynote speech during the actual service that included Governor Dayton, the Commissioner of Public Safety, and a key member of the state House of Representatives.

As I listened to the descriptions of how some of the older LODDs occured, it struck me how different the fire service used to be.  Many of the deaths were from falling off the back of moving fire engines.  When I started, we still rode on the back step and I know exactly what that is like.  It is a good thing that we have removed that dangerous practice from the fire service!  There were also quite a few who died by falling through the pole hole in the fire station (in the days before doors and guard rails around the pole hole).  The good news is that we build stations a lot safer today.

Thanks to all of my friends in Minnesota.  The hospitality was great!  You have created a very special thing in this memorial.  It was a privilege to be a part of the service.