Editor in Chief - John McMahon Ret. Deputy Chief

The IAFF memorial
Somewhere-Everyday

By Captain/EMT-D Ron Ayotte

The International Association of Fire Fighters' Fallen Firefighter Memorial is located in Memorial Park in the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Memorial is made up of two memorial statues which are entitled "Somewhere-Everyday" and "Lamentations" and also the "Wall of Honor" which lists the name of every IAFF firefighter who died in the line of duty since the year1976.
1976 was the year that Congress passed the Public Safety Officers Benefit bill and the real recording of line of duty deaths began. There are countless numbers of firefighters who made the supreme sacrifice before the year 1976. The memories of those who have gone before are forever kept in the hearts of firefighters everywhere.

"Somewhere-Everyday" is an image of a fire fighter climbing down a ladder surrounded by the rubble of the fireground. In his arms, he is cradling an infant that he has rescued.

The statue is 17 feet high and weighs 2600 pounds. It was dedicated on October 15th, 1988. The statue began as a framework made of plywood and rebar, which was stuffed with newspaper and cast in plaster. The plaster was then covered with clay, where the intricate details could be formed. It was covered with casting materials, then disassembled and sent to the foundry, where the molds were then cast in bronze and reassembled.

"Lamentations" was added to the Memorial in 1996. It was inspired by a photograph of a Pittsburgh, PA firefighter who was seen sitting on the stairs of a house where a fire had just been extinguished.
The firefighter had just been informed that three of his comrades died in the fire. " Lamentations" shows the all too human side of the job and the truth behind the tough image that firefighters have. They were deigned by noted sculptor and artist Gary Coulter.

Photos credits belong to Firefighter/EMT-D Lee Lively, Group 3, Rescue 1.

Hosted by Web Gardian™ Designed by Macky's Web Design™

Work in Progress. © Copyright 2000-2003 FireFightersForums, Inc.