Firehouse.Com News

The 20th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service held by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Emmitsburg, MD, will honor 96 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2000. The annual public tribute, held at the site of the official national monument to all fallen firefighters, will take place on October 7.

The 96 firefighters were from 38 states and Puerto Rico. Texas lost the most firefighters with 10, followed by Missouri and Pennsylvania with six each.

This year’s list includes two from previous years. On occasion the determination for inclusion in the memorial service event has not been made at the time the Foundation needs to begin preparing for the event.

The memorial service is the culmination of Memorial Weekend activities held on the National Fire Academy campus. Families and coworkers of the honored firefighters will attend Family Day activities on Saturday, October 6, with a public candlelight service that evening. The memorial service is held Sunday.

“We hope everyone across the nation will join in remembering America’s fallen fire heroes,” said Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki, NFFF Executive Director. “The greatest tribute we can pay these men and women is to increase our efforts to prevent similar losses from occurring in the future.”

For more information, contact the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation at 301 447-1365 or visit their web site at www.firehero.org.

2000 Fallen Firefighters Alabama Rickey Levi Davis Center Point Fire/Rescue Paul Anthony Husband, Sr. Mobile Fire-Rescue Department Alaska David J. Liston Bureau of Land Management – Alaska Fire Service Arkansas James Alan “Jim” Burnett Oklahoma Department of Agriculture – Forestry Services Jared C. McCormick Bono Fire Protection District California Paul E. Cooper Hoopa Volunteer Fire Department Leo W. Koponen United States Forest Service Courtney Aviation, Columbia, California Michael Shortt Weaverville Volunteer Fire Department Colorado Robert W. Crump Denver Fire Department Connecticut Robert Boy Ketelsen Westbrook Fire Department Jaime Quinones, Jr. Waterbury Fire Department Whitney C. Teehan, Jr. City of Groton Fire Department Eastern Point Volunteer Fire Company #2 Delaware Arnold Blankenship III Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company #1, Inc. Florida Marvin Maurice Bartholemew Pensacola Fire Department George A. Burton Florida Division of Forestry Nolen A. Sauls Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Roger H. Taylor Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Michael K. Yahraus Sarasota County Fire Department Georgia Michael R. Queen Clayton Volunteer Fire Department Phillip D. Smith Department of Defense Fire Department Fort McPherson & Fort Gillem Fire and Emergency Services Illinois Scott P. Gillen Chicago Fire Department Thomas G. Gotkowski Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department L.C. Merrell, Jr. Chicago Fire Department Steven M. Wilmot Springfield Fire Department Donald Ray Wilson Herrick Fire Protection District Indiana Robert M. Samanas Rural Metro Fire Department, Bethlehem Steel, Burns Harbor Warren J. C. Smith Indianapolis Fire Department Iowa James Ted Griffith Winterset Fire Department Douglas G. Stevens Story City/Lafayette Township Volunteer Fire Department Kansas Lyndell J. Smith Caldwell Fire Department Kentucky Logan D. Fields Hazard Fire Department Kyle A. Hendrick Gott Volunteer Fire Department, Bowling Green Richard Owen Spink Fort Campbell Fire Department Louisiana Lester L. Shadrick Bureau of Land Management/ERA Aviation, Inc., Lake Charles Maine Robert “Jonesy” Jones Unity Volunteer Fire Department Maryland Robert W. Humphrey Maryland Line Volunteer Fire Company #450 Massachusetts David C. Fitzgerald Somerville Fire Department Michigan Ronald James Haner Portage Fire Department David A. Maisano Tri-Town Fire Department, Mio David P. Sutton Fraser Department of Public Safety Gail L. Van Auken Overisel Township Fire Department Mississippi John Paul Pritchett, Sr. Mississippi Forestry Commission Missouri James W. Altic Halfway Volunteer Fire Department Bradley S. Pierce St. Charles City Fire Department Robert D. Pollard Southern Stone County Fire Protection District, Kimberling City James A. “Jim” Reavis North Stone NE Barry County Fire District, Crane Missouri (continued) Phillip D. Ridings Hornersville Volunteer Fire Department Evan N. Shirk Moreau Fire Protection District, Eldon Nevada Phillip “Pip” Conner National Park Service – Lake Meade National Recreation Area New Hampshire David A. Anderson Manchester Fire Department New Jersey Ralph H. Jones II Deptford Fire Department Daniel King Cliffside Park Fire Department Ronald J. Osadacz Morganville Volunteer Fire Department New Mexico Samuel J. Tobias United States Forest Service – Lincoln National Forest New York Fred Brain Miller Place Fire Department Kenneth W. Kerr Fire Department of New York Keith P. Purcell Southold Fire Department Bernard “Pete” Scannell Waterloo Fire Department North Carolina Gary L. Bankert, Sr. Roanoke-Wildwood Volunteer Fire Department, Littleton Lisa A. Farrow Engelhard Fire and Rescue Department David Timothy “Tim” Newman North Carolina Division of Forest Resources David C. Sharp II City of Fayetteville Fire Department Howard W. VanHoy Austin Volunteer Fire Department Ohio Michael Ray Baughn Washington Fire/Rescue, Washington Courthouse James D. Geiger City of Defiance Fire and Rescue Lee A. Purdy Spencerville Invincible Fire Company Oklahoma Jerry W. Coppin Okay Volunteer Fire Department Robert Jeffrey “Jeff” Jackson Harmony Volunteer Fire Department Allen L. Streeter Ranch Drive Fire District, Ponca City Pennsylvania Thomas J. Hazaz Tunkhannock Township Fire Department, Long Pond Kenneth Jesse Harford Volunteer Fire Company Nathan Andrew Pescatore Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department Elwood C. Queen Irvona Volunteer Fire Department Grant F. Trick Canton Fire Department – Innes Hose Company Ernest J. Young Big Knob Volunteer Fire Department Puerto Rico Evangelio “Chiqui” Soto Puerto Rico Fire Department South Dakota Robert Wayne “Bob” Buhler Delmont Volunteer Fire Department Tennessee William M. Blakemore, Sr. Memphis Fire Department Javier Lerma Memphis Fire Department Texas David Butler Idalou Volunteer Fire Department Walter H. Gass Sealy Volunteer Fire Department Kevin S. Harshbarger Scenic Loop Volunteer Fire Department James G. Hill, Sr. Daingerfield Volunteer Fire Department Lewis E. Mayo III Houston Fire Department Carl R. Payne Texas Forest Service James Robert Renfroe Dallas County Fire and Rescue Services Kimberly A. Smith Houston Fire Department Albert Leonel Voris, Jr. Combine Volunteer Fire Department Lamar Y’Barbo Texas Forest Service Utah Michael Todd Bishop Utah Department of Corrections Rodgie R. Braithwaite Utah Department of Corrections Kendall O. Bryant Layton Fire Department Vermont Edward A. Russ Bethel Volunteer Fire Department Virginia Kenneth T. Miller Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Department West Virginia Robert C. Brannon Bluefield Fire Department Wyoming Roger “Bo” Rathbun Sundance Volunteer Fire Department Firefighters from Previous Years 1998 - California Roger D. Bookout California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 1981 - New York Walter G. Morrison Otsego County Emergency Services, Cooperstown

Related: