The South Bend Fire Department is hosting a memorial service for fallen firefighters and emergency medical personnel on Thursday, September 11 at 8:30 am. The Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial Service will be held at the Fallen Firefighters monument at Seitz Park in downtown South Bend. The Firefighters Local 362 union is co-hosting the event.
“We ask the community to join us in recognizing firefighters and first responders who have died in the line of duty or while on active duty,” Fire Chief Steve Cox says. “Since 9/11, we’ve come together at this time to commemorate the service of the men and women who put their lives on the line when others are in danger.”
The event is being held on the 13th anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, which killed 2,606 people in New York City. Among the deceased were 343 New York City firefighters and 15 EMTs.
The city says that since the South Bend Fire Department’s inception in 1853, the city has lost eight firefighters in the line of duty — most recently, Richard “Doc” Brekrus, in 1990. South Bend’s other fallen firefighters are:
Camiel De Vleeschower
Stanislaw Duszynski
August R. Horvath
John F. Howard
Edwin Martin
Anthony P. Miller
Eugene Rozwars
Those who have died while serving on active duty are:
Paul Belmarez
James Cole Tony Csenar
Fred Gunther
Stanley Jackowiak
Bradley Jordan
Thomas Jozwiak
Stephen Sheets
Larry Szczepanski Bruce Taylor
Carl Williamson
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