IAFF Holds 2014 Memorial Service
An estimated 5,000 family members and friends participated in the Sept. 20 ceremony at Memorial Park in the shadow of Pikes Peak.
The International Association of Fire Fighters on Sept. 20 honored 168 professional firefighters and paramedics who died in the line of duty during the past year, adding their names to the Wall of Honor during the 28th Annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service in Colorado Springs, Colo. IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger spoke during the ceremony, which added more names to the wall than in any year since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when 347 firefighters died at the World Trade Center.
Nineteen firefighters honored this year died in the Yarnell Hill wildfire near Prescott, Ariz. A total of 2,976 names are on the memorial now.
IAFF estimated 5,000 family members and friends participated in the ceremony at Memorial Park in the shadow of Pikes Peak. "Each of the stories of our fallen is placed on these walls and each time another name is added the stories grow. They're stories of courage, of honor, of duty, of family, of sacrifice," Schaitberger told them. "And each of your loved ones' story will remain here and be told here for all time."