CA -- Sacramento -- Capitol Park -- California Firefighters' Memorial:
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Description of Subject Matter: The Courage of Everyday Heroes
"On this spot the people of California are building a memorial to honor those firefighters who lost their lives protecting our neighborhoods, our homes, our families and our dreams."
─ California Firefighter Memorial site dedication, 1995
The California Firefighters' Memorial in Capitol Park serves as an enduring remembrance of the men and women who lost their lives while serving on California's front lines of public safety. The state depends on firefighters to ensure Californians' safety. Whether battling a structure blaze, handling hazardous materials spills, or as first responders in the face of natural disaster, the firefighters' workplace is challenging, hazardous and, many times, unforgiving. A firefighting crew embodies the true spirit of self-sacrifice each time it answers an alarm─the families and friends of those whose names are immortalized in the memorial know this all too well. With its bronze statues and limestone memorial wall, the monument honors the more than 900 men and women who have died in the line of duty since California achieved statehood in 1850.
The idea for a California memorial came to California Professional Firefighters (CPF) President Dan Terry in 1992, while attending a ceremony at the International Association of Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "I just kept thinking about all the families who would never have a chance to go to Colorado. They deserved a memorial in the state where their loved ones worked," said Terry. Terry worked with CPF Governmental Advocate Brian Hatch and California Assemblyman Rusty Arieas to steer a bill through the Legislature that would bring Terry's vision to life. Governor Pete Wilson signed Assembly Bill No. 3198 on September 29, 1992, stipulating the creation of the Firefighters' Memorial Task Force. This task force was entrusted with choosing the perfect location for the memorial in Capitol Park, while preserving the historical integrity and natural beauty of the park's grounds. The location near the center of Capitol Park was dedicated on May 31, 1995.
With one hurdle conquered, the next challenge was to secure funding to build the structure. In 1993 Governor Wilson signed two bills that would help CPF acquire the funds needed to build the memorial─the California Firefighters' Memorial Income Tax Check-off, and the California Firefighters' license plate. The income tax check-off provides a way for all Californians to honor their state's firefighters by choosing to donate a portion of their expected state tax refund to the memorial. The tax check-off program has thus far generated more than 0,000 for the California Fire Foundation, the memorial's fund-raising vehicle.
The California Firefighter License Plate allows firefighters to show their pride while helping fund the memorial. The plate's identifying feature is an image of actor Kurt Russell from the Universal Studios movie "Back Draft." The film's director, Ron Howard, personally helped secure permission to use the image on the plate, which is only available to active and retired firefighters. Its sale has so far helped raise more than 240.3 million for the memorial. To date these two grassroots fund-raising efforts have generated more than million for the memorial. The Firefighters' Memorial funds are provided exclusively through private donations.
The focal point of the memorial is the polished limestone wall that immortalizes the names of California's fallen firefighters. The wall bore 855 firefighters' names at the time of the memorial's unveiling. Blank panels serve as a somber reminder of the loss yet to be felt by the loved ones of firefighters who do not return from the call of duty. The wall is flanked on either side by bronze replicas of firefighter helmets and jackets, called turnouts, a reference to the long-held firehouse tradition of leaving the coat and hat of an off-duty firefighter hanging untouched until he or she returns to duty. To view the names engraved on the wall, choose Firefighters Memorial Wall under Virtual Tour Details at this tour stop.
There are few professions in which co-workers' lives depend on one another. When firefighters fall, their loss is at once a heartbreaking misfortune as well as a solemn reminder to their associates of their own mortality. The sculpture "Fallen Brother" depicts the sorrow felt by a firefighter as he retrieves his lifeless comrade from the flames. Artist Jesus Romo is a 26-year veteran of the Sacramento City Fire Department. He was inspired to create this homage to the fellowship of firefighting by his passion for his work and the losses he has felt personally during his lengthy career. San Francisco Fire Captain Gerry Shannon was given the honor of posing as the model for the struggling firefighter. Shannon displayed heroism during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake by rescuing a woman who'd been trapped in a collapsed building in San Francisco's Marina District. To view the story in more detail, go to the Fallen Brother Sculpture Video Story Related Link at this tour stop.
The sculpture "Holding the Line" pays tribute to the profession's spirit of teamwork, focus, and dedication. Three firefighters are charged with feeding the hose line up to the fourth who is holding the nozzle. Like Jesus Romo, artist Lawrence Noble chose to immortalize actual firefighters as models for his work: Chief Rose Conroy of the Davis Fire Department, the first woman ever to be named chief of a professional municipal fire department in California; Kenny Enslow, who perished fighting a forest fire in Mendocino County; Captain Steve Bowie of the Los Angeles County Fire Department; and Frank Reynoso, also of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. To view the story in more detail, go to the Holding the Line Sculpture Video Story Related Link at this tour stop.
On April 6, 2002, the California Firefighters' Memorial was officially unveiled. The families of fallen firefighters were invited to Sacramento to honor their lost loved ones and share their memories with others. Governor Gray Davis, along with CPF President Dan Terry, joined more than 2,000 uniformed firefighters to honor their lost colleagues. This emotional event was followed by the First Annual Ceremony on May 22, 2003, which honored those who lost their lives during the year following the memorial's dedication.
As evidenced by the disastrous fires in Southern California during the autumn of 2003, California will continue to rely on the self-sacrificing bravery of those who put their lives on the line for public safety. And sadly Californians will continue to honor those who have lost their lives in the line of duty by immortalizing their names on the monument's memorial wall.
For more information about California's firefighters and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, visit the CDF Firefighters website.
The above was from http://www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov/the-museum/capitol-park
Wikipedia Description: California Firefighters Memorial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The California Firefighters Memorial is a memorial located on the grounds of the California state capitol in Sacramento, California. It honors firefighters from California or who served in California and who died in line of duty or of other duty-related illness or injury. A memorial ceremony is held each year to honor firefighters who died in the line of duty. This ceremony is usually in late September. It includes a limestone memorial wall and two bronze statues: "Fallen Brother" and "Holding the Line"; it was designed by the Jerde Partnership. The memorial is in the Capitol Park between 13th and 14th Streets and is managed by the California State Capitol Museum. A "California Firefighters Memorial Fund" was created which received proceeds from the California Motor Vehicles Department from sales of special vehicle license plates, under a program established by Section 18802 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. It also received donations designated for the Fund received by the California Franchise Tax Board in state income tax filings, and from calendar sales.
In 2015, sixteen firefighters' names were added to the Memorial.
Tragedy prompts safety
The memorial honors Cal Fire firefighters and numerous others from various other municipal and wildland firefighing agencies, who have died from duty-related causes, some medical in nature, and others which occurred on-duty while directly engaged in an emergency incident. incident. Typically these on-duty incident related deaths are analyzed and examined more closely than deaths from other medical reasons. Improvements in firefighting safety derived from case-studies of fatal firefighter incidents may be regarded as memorials, too. For example, flame resistant nomex clothing and upgraded training were required for Cal Fire employees after Steve Arrollado was burned in the Bell Valley fire. The wildland fire shelter was mandated for all Cal Fire firefighters after the Spanish Ranch fire in 1979, and it was redesigned and improved after the disastrous South Canyon fire near Glenwood Springs, CO. in 1994. The 1990 death of Kenneth Enslow prompted use of the "Look Up, Look Down" safety training program for Cal Fire employees. A variety of firefighting air tanker crashes eventually led to wider inspections and removing the oldest and most vulnerable large air tankers from the national wildland firefighting fleet.
Firefighter fatalities memorialized
Names included on the California Firefighter Foundation's memorial wall as part of the California State Capitol Museum, Sacramento, CA. can be found here. Notable among these is James J. Kenney.
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