EMMITSBURG, MD – The 38th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service will be held Sunday, October 6, 2019, to honor 92 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2018 and 27 firefighters who died in the line of duty in previous years.
The service begins at 10:00 a.m. (ET) at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland and is open to the public. The names of the firefighters will be read, and their loved ones will receive an American flag that had been flown above the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and the U.S. Capitol Dome. These firefighters also will be remembered in a special Candlelight Service on Saturday, October 5, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. (ET), where a bronze plaque bearing the names of the fallen will be officially added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial. The events are part of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, where the U.S. Fire Service gathers together to honor the lives of the fallen and to comfort their surviving family, friends and fellow firefighters.
Leaders and members of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus launched the memorial weekend events with a presentation of 119 flags during a brief ceremony held at the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC on September 17, 2019. The flags are flown over the U.S. Capitol in honor of each fallen firefighter and will be displayed in the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel until they are presented to family members during Sunday’s Memorial Service. Congress passed legislation in 1992, creating the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), as the only national organization to honor all fallen firefighters and to offer support to their families.
“The permanence of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial is a constant testament to the ultimate sacrifice of our courageous fallen”, said Troy Markel, Chairman of the NFFF Board of Directors. “As we gather together to honor and to pay tribute to our fallen firefighters selfless devotion to service, Memorial Weekend is a time for us as a nation and a fire service to pause and reflect on their sacrifice and to honor and grieve for the loss their families, friends and fellow firefighters continue to endure.”
More than 5,000 people, including families, friends, members of Congress, government officials and firefighters are expected to attend Sunday’s memorial service. Firefighter Honor Guards and Pipe & Drum units from across the U.S. will participate in this national remembrance.
NFFF provides a live satellite feed and streaming of ceremonies along with video of events for downloading courtesy of VISTA Worldlink. Visit http://live.firehero.org to find Memorial Weekend streaming information, videos, photos, and satellite coordinates. A complete list of fallen firefighters, as well as a widget to display their information on your website is also available.
Events honoring fallen firefighters are hosted in communities across the country, including Bells Across America and Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters. Bells will be rung, and communities will light up landmarks, buildings, fire departments and homes to recognize the sacrifice of these fallen firefighters. For more information on these events, click here.
About the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF)
The United States Congress created the NFFF to lead a nationwide effort to remember America's fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the non-profit foundation has developed and expanded programs to honor fallen fire heroes and assist their families and co-workers. The NFFF also works with the fire service to help prevent and reduce line-of-duty deaths and injuries. For more information on the Foundation and its programs, please contact us at 301-447-1365 or click here.
