Every single firefighter passes as a hero
Published: October 26, 2006
State and fire officials pushed shovels into the ground outside the Statehouse, symbolically breaking ground on what is to become a $1.1 million Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
The 7-foot-tall structure, consisting of three bronze sculptures of firefighters surrounded by bricks engraved with the names of fallen firefighters, will be built inside Ashburton Park, the lawn bordering the right-hand side of the Statehouse.
“Every single firefighter passes as a hero,” said Norman Knight, president of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Committee who spoke at yesterday’s press conference, “because everyday they feel the impact of danger. To every firefighter in the state, I take my hat off and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The memorial, slated for completion in June, will stand opposite the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial which was dedicated to the state’s police officers in May 2004.
The Legislature earmarked $250,000 for the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in 2002, and the memorial committee will raise the remaining $850,000 in part through the sale of bricks that will be placed around the bronze statue.
Money will also be raised through the purchase of new Firefighters Memorial license plates, announced Registrar of Motor Vehicles Anne Collins yesterday.
The plates have a red illustration of a firefighter on the left-hand side. They are available to all Massachusetts drivers for a $40 registration fee, $28 of which will go directly to fund the memorial.
Advance orders for the plates have already raised $70,000, said Collins, who added the memorial “will not only recognize the past… but encourage a new generation of heroes.”
Rep. Bill Greene, D-Billerica, attended the ceremony along with Reps. Charlie Murphy, D-Burlington, Jim Miceli, D-Wilmington and Colleen Garry, D-Dracut.
“This is great. It really honors the fallen firefighters,” he said. “It’s good that it’s been such a statewide effort.”
“Those of us in the Legislature are very cognizant of the sacrifices of our firefighters,” added Miceli. “Every time they go out on a call, there’s the thought they may not be coming back.”
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