National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Announces Registration Deadline for Memorial Honor Procession

July 19, 2002
Washington, D.C. -- The National Fallen Firefighter Foundation has announced that August 26, 2002 is the registration deadline for Fire Departments interested in participating in the Procession of Honor immediately prior to the NFFF Memorial Service on Sunday, October 6, 2002 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Fallen Firefighter Foundation has announced that August 26, 2002 is the registration deadline for Fire Departments interested in participating in the Procession of Honor immediately prior to the NFFF Memorial Service on Sunday, October 6, 2002 in Washington, D.C.

The NFFF has asked for the cut-off date in order to facilitate its planning for such difficult logistical issues as traffic management, security, staging area requirements and personnel movement. Some facilities and equipment must be reserved weeks in advance, so it is essential that the organizers be able to estimate total numbers of participants as accurately as possible.

Undoubtedly, many departments may have been waiting for additional details before committing to participating in the event. Final details of the actual Memorial and the Procession of Honor are still being formulated at present, but a preliminary outline of what departments may expect has been outlined as follows below. Please bear in mind that some details may be subject to change.

Procession of Honor?Date: Sunday, October 6, 2002?Time: 11:00am EDT (to approximately 12:30pm EDT)

Route: Approximately 10 blocks in downtown DC alongside the National Mall

  • Lineup begins on Constitution Avenue at 14th street

  • Moves east on Constitution Avenue for seven blocks to 7th street

  • Turns left (north) on 7th Avenue to the MCI Center - End

  • Participants then move to positions adjacent to MCI Center (outside) to view the Memorial Service on special TV Jumbotrons set up for the purpose

Order:?The procession will be comprised of the following:

  • Honor Guard Units

  • Bag Pipe Units

  • LODD Families in special vans or buses

  • Uniformed fire service personnel from departments that had a LODD

  • Followed by Non-LODD uniformed personnel who will fall in behind the last vans from their places along the parade route

Sea of Blue:

               First-arriving non-LODD departmental participants in dress uniform who wish to attend will be asked to line each side of the streets the procession will travel (approximately 10 blocks long), shoulder-to-shoulder, facing into the street.

               The procession of families will pass between the two lines on their way to the Memorial service at MCI Center.

               Additional honor procession personnel beyond what is needed to line the streets will stage on Constitution Avenue at 14th Street and will follow en masse immediately after the family vans.

               Sea of Blue personnel along the streets will remain in place until the last unit in the family procession has passed by, and then will fall in line behind the last fire service personnel to proceed to MCI Center.

               Upon reaching the MCI Center, members of the Procession of Honor will split off right and left to holding areas, where they will have an opportunity to view the Memorial Service broadcast on Jumbotron television screens.

               Immediately following the service, fire service participants will proceed to a large hosted reception at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Uniform: Dress uniform

Apparatus: No apparatus will be allowed in the Procession of Honor and there will be no available parking for any oversize vehicles. Please do not bring them.

Red Helmet Motorcycle Ride: A special motorcycle memorial ride will occur on Saturday, October 5th, to commemorate the weekend. Ride begins at 11:00am EDT at the Pentagon with a wreath-laying ceremony and runs through downtown Washington, D.C., ending with another wreath-laying ceremony at the Law Enforcement Memorial at 12:30pm.www.firehero.org.

Additional details will be distributed to participants as they become available.

An Important Note about the Memorial Service ?As previously announced, the actual service inside the MCI Center, which will serve as this year's NFFF Memorial event, will be exclusively a family and LODD department event. Unfortunately, the number of families and direct participants involved in this year's commemoration, along with the space restrictions of the MCI venue, will not allow for general fire service attendance inside the facility. That is why large Jumbotron Screens will be in place outside the MCI center so that attendees will be able to view the entire memorial service live, but not able to be inside the facility.

The NFFF appreciates your understanding of the situation, and is grateful for all those who wish to use the Procession of Honor as a way to participate in this historic event.

To Register For Participation:?Thank you to those departments who have already responded. For those who have not yet responded and are planning to attend, it is essential that you provide the following information by August 26 by RETURN EMAIL or FAX to (703) 273-9363:

               Department name

               Contact name (please list one person who will serve as the main contact for the department)

               Phone number

               Email address

               # of personnel attending

To reply via email: Send an email to [email protected] and indicate the information as above.

Travel and Lodging?Travel and lodging arrangements for non-LODD Departmental Members is the responsibility of each individual department or participant. Neither the IAFC nor the NFFF will be able to provide assistance in securing those details. If a hotel contacts us with a new special rate for this event, the information will be shared with the non-LODD participants immediately, but they will be limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

Local Travel Resources:?Capital Reservations - (DC Convention/Visitors Bureau) 1-800-VISIT DC (1-800-847-4832) 8:30-6:30M-F "Visit DC" Website: www.washington.org.?Crystal City Hotels: Any travel/destination website such as:www.travelocity.com, www.orbitz.com, www.expedia.com.

For additional information, please contact: Lisa Plummer, IAFC PR Assistant at (703) 273-0911 ext 305 or email: [email protected].

For additional details, the NFFF has a complete section on the Memorial Weekend located on their website, www.firehero.org.

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