Source: ICHIEFS
Washington, D.C. -- The International
Association of Fire Chiefs is issuing a "first notification" to its
membership that 100,000 uniformed fire service personnel will be needed to
form a Procession of Honor immediately prior to the National Fallen
Firefighter Foundation Memorial Service on Sunday, October 6, 2002 in
Washington, DC.
Inside the Story
What: National Fallen Firefighters Weekend
Where: Washington, D.C.
When: October 4-7, 2002
Related
Last Year's Service at Emmitsburg
|
|
|
The exact time of the procession, staging and details of the event are not
known at this time, but will be forwarded to interested departments as
soon as they are available.
Due to the anticipated size of this year's memorial service, the NFFF
weekend was moved to Washington, DC. from the memorial's permanent
location in Emmitsburg, MD. The NFFF has scheduled a formal family
service on Sunday at the MCI Center in downtown DC, but seating in
the center is extremely limited. As a result, the service will be closed
to all but dignitaries and the immediate families of firefighters lost in
the line of duty during 2001.
The Procession of Honor has been envisioned as a way to allow fire service
personnel from all across the nation to participate in an historic event
which would otherwise not be able to accommodate them.
"We would like to
have a solid wall of firefighters as far as the eye can see, representing
every facet of the fire service- from every town and community," said IAFC
President John M. Buckman, III, "It would be the greatest collective
gesture of respect we could make as a profession to honor our own."
In issuing the call, the IAFC stresses that the purpose of the "first
notification" is simply to alert IAFC members of the coming event and to
solicit indications of participation from interested departments. The
IAFC will collect a list of departments and provide details on the
procession as they become available closer to the date of the event.
The IAFC must emphasize that all travel and lodging will be the
responsibility of participants. Neither the International Association of Fire Chiefs nor the
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will be
able to assist departments in obtaining such arrangements, nor are any
hotel rooms being held for this purpose.
However, a number of excellent
resources are listed at the bottom of this announcement which should
provide some assistance in securing such arrangements as needed.
Washington DC Lodging Information:
Interested participants should also note the following:
- Personnel must be in dress uniform
- All personnel will march "en masse", but will be allowed to group
together as Departments
- No apparatus will be allowed in the procession
To indicate interest in participating in the Procession of Honor:
-
E-mail news@iafc.org and indicate state department name, contact
name, phone number and # of personnel attending.
Please do not call the IAFC or the NFFF for information at this time.
Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
