For Immediate Release                                                                                                   
September 18, 2008  
Contact: Mike Smaldino  
(719) 492-5596  cell
Bill Glanz 
(202) 329-5856   cell                                                                                                              

Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Service to be Held Sept. 20

U.S. and Canadian fire fighters and family members gather to remember 137 fallen fire fighters at the International Association of Fire Fighters ceremony in Colorado Springs

1:00 PM MST SATURDAY, September 20, 2008

IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial
Memorial Park, Colorado Springs, CO

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Fire fighters from the United States and Canada who died in the line of duty will be honored at the 22nd Annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 20.

“We must never forget those who died in the line of duty. This ceremony is for them, for their families and for us because we must always remember the ultimate sacrifice that these brothers and sisters made,” International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger said.

The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park, at the corner of Hancock and Pikes Peak avenues. This year’s memorial service will honor 137 fire fighters killed or reported as deaths in the line of duty from June 1, 2007 through June 4, 2008. Some fire fighters who died prior to June 1, 2007, also will be honored.

A complete list of those whose names will be added to the Wall of Honor is available here http://www.iaff.org/hs/ffm/wall/index.aspx and an agenda is available here http://www.iaff.org/hs/ffm/thisyear/program.aspx 

The IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial was created in 1976, and the Wall of Honor bears the names of 2,125 fire fighters who have died in the line of duty since then. The IAFF will include all the names on the Wall of Honor of its members who have died in the line of duty since the 1918, when the union was founded.

Memorial Park is maintained by members of IAFF Local 5 in Colorado Springs. Members of Local 5 also participate in ceremonies at the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial each year.

MEDIA: IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger will preside over the ceremonies and be available for interviews.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 290,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 85 percent of the nation’s population. More than 3,100 affiliates and their members protect communities in every state in the United States and in Canada. More information is available at www.iaff.org.  

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