Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Overview
Oregon Builds Memorial to Honor Our Fallen Fire Fighters
The idea to construct a memorial which honors Oregon’s fallen firefighters began in 1994. The founders of the original committee had a common vision, to establish a living statewide memorial to recognize members of the Oregon fire service. Over the years, dozens of meetings have been held and various locations and designs were discussed. As many of you are aware, the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) is in the process of building a new academy. The new Oregon Public Safety Academy will be located in Salem, Oregon on over 200 acres of property on Aumsville Highway and Cordon Road. This new facility will allow for the training of Oregon’s public safety professionals, including fire, corrections, law enforcement, 9-1-1 and many others. The new academy will open in July 2006. Oregon law requires 1% of all construction dollars be allocated towards the arts. The Oregon Public Safety Academy Arts Committee selected the construction of a Fallen Firefighter Memorial as one of the projects to be funded from this fund.
The goal of DPSST and the Oregon Public Safety Academy Arts Committee was to assist in a long-term goal of the fire service, the construction of a statewide memorial that honors structural and wildland firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives in the line of duty. The design of memorial would be selected by the Oregon fire service and once constructed, maintained by DPSST. At the April 30, 2004 meeting of the DPSST Fire Policy Committee (FPC) the proposal to construct the State Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the new Academy was approved. The FPC also asked each statewide fire service organization to participate in the design process and assist those who had invested years in this effort.
After a number of meetings with the State Arts Commission and various artists a selection was made by the workgroup. The work was awarded to Scott and Robert Murase of Portland. Murase Associates is a Portland-based firm that has received dozens of awards over the past two decades for their work throughout the Pacific Northwest. Murase Associates proposed a polished granite wall with a bronze Maltese cross that would list the names of the fallen. A black granite path inscribed “In the Line of Duty” will go across the front of the memorial. The memorial will be illuminated at night.
The Oregon Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Committee has worked with structural and wildland fire agencies across the state to ensure all of our fallen comrades are honored. Line-of-duty-deaths from as far back as 1882 have been submitted for review. To date the Committee has approved over 100 submissions for the memorial. The submissions include every aspect of the fire service including career, volunteer, wildland, and structural firefighters; chief officers, company officers, engineers, and firefighters. The construction of the memorial has begun and plans are underway for a dedication ceremony in October of 2006. The Oregon Fire Service Honor Guard has volunteered to serve as the conduit for an annual memorial ceremony that will be held before, or in conjunction, with the National Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Service in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Since the inception of this idea in 1994, the biggest challenge faced on this project was funding. Originally DPSST set aside $100,000 for this work, and within the last few months, DPSST approved an additional $25,000 to complete Phase I of this memorial. Phase I includes the work described above, a second phase is planned but completion of that work would take almost another $100,000. The second phase involves a figurative sculpture, a marble overlook and a fountain in a nearby pond. The Oregon Fire Chiefs Association has graciously established a tax deductible account to raise funds for Phase II of the memorial and to address costs associated with the annual memorial ceremony.
OregonFallen Fire Fighters Committee Members:
Jack Carriger, Oregon Fire Chiefs’ Association
Patrick Fale, Oregon State Firefighters Council
Lou Gugliotta, Oregon Fire Marshal’s Association
Laura Houston, Oregon Fire Service Administrators Association
Michael Hundt, Oregon Fire Service Honor Guard
Bill Klein, Oregon Fire Instructor’s Association
Stan Parker, Oregon Fire Service Museum (Committee Chair)
Dick Ragsdale, Oregon Fire Service Learning Center
Steve Schneiderman, Oregon Volunteer Firefighter’s Association
Eriks Gabliks, Department of Public Safety Standards and Training
If you have questions regarding the Oregon Fallen Firefighters Memorial, please contact Deputy Director Eriks Gabliks at DPSST by phone at (503) 378-2332 or via email at eriks.gabliks@state.or.us Additional information on the construction of the memorial, names of the fallen, memorial dedication, and other pertinent information will be posted as received.
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