Firefighter occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service today. In support of Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) have teamed up to raise awareness via the Walk of Honor® at NFFF’s Memorial Park.
This permanent tribute is located on the campus of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It now includes the Firefighter Cancer Support Network section, created to honor or remember those touched by cancer. A brick in this special section can serve as a tribute to those who were lost; to celebrate a cancer survivor; or to honor those who are currently battling (or providing support to someone who is).
The Walk of Honor® links all of Memorial Park together, including the official National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel. The FCSN section on the walkway is directly adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, which features the To Lift a Nation sculpture in honor of those lost on September 11, 2001 and in subsequent years due to World Trade Center diseases— including cancer.
Each brick on the walkway bears a personal inscription. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have placed bricks honoring firefighters; the Walk of Honor® continues to expand and now contains more than 13,000 inscribed bricks. Numbered sections help donors and recipients locate their special bricks. Bricks with personal inscriptions can also be ordered for firefighters who died prior to 1981, when the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial was established.
Those who are interested in purchasing a brick for this special section can learn more on NFFF’s dedicated page. Proceeds from the bricks in the Firefighter Cancer Support Network section of the Walk of Honor® support the programs of the NFFF and the FCSN.
