South Carolina Firefighters Memorial page

Tributes to Fallen Firefighters may be viewed at:
USFA/FEMA Fatalities Report

Firefighter's Name City, State Date of Death

Dill, Christopher Allen Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 03/04/2009
Darrington, Michael J. Toledo, Ohio 02/27/2009
Myshrall, Charles Coventry, Connecticut 02/26/2009
Pierno, Ferdinando 'Freddy' Stuart, Florida 02/25/2009
North, Derek Edward Lakeland, Georgia 02/23/2009
Adams, John Jennings, Oklahoma 02/20/2009
Hammons, Johnnie Craigsville, West Virginia 02/19/2009
Nicholas, Timothy Craigsville, West Virginia 02/19/2009
Eberle Jr., Albert G. Roslyn, Pennsylvania 02/16/2009
Isbell, Jeffrey Enterprise, Alabama 02/10/2009
Mathison, Dean Walter Larsen, Wisconsin 02/09/2009
Davis, Mark Bradley Cape Vincent, New York 01/31/2009
Parsons, William Gray Millers Creek, North Carolina 01/31/2009
Galloway, Cory James Kilgore, Texas 01/25/2009
Perkins, Kyle Kilgore, Texas 01/25/2009
Rhea, Richard Lynn Crawfordville, Florida 01/24/2009
Kelley, Kevin M. Boston, Massachusetts 01/09/2009
Myers, John C. Pittsburg, Oklahoma 01/03/2009
Stephens, Gary Elizabeth, New Jersey 01/02/2009

Three months plus Eight days
Nineteen Fallen Firefighters
Hundreds of broken, weeping hearts

This page will no doubt have more names by next month
How many more?
None we pray
Some are inevitable

Our job is risky
Our job is dangerous
Be aware Stay Safe Stay Low
Train as if your life depends on it
IT DOES!

Watch out for your Brothers and Sisters All
Whether your own... or Mutual Aid Departments

Seat Belts on... and TIGHT
ALL eyes on the road ahead... beside... behind
Drive Safely and Responsibly
Arrive Alive

On scene
Read the smoke
Sound those floors and roofs
Communicate Communicate Communicate
Never, ever leave your partner
He Goes You Go She Stays You Stay

Search Safely Search Quickly Search Thoroughly
Leave no stone unturned

If the Fire has won
Go on the Defensive

Train Train Train
then Train some more
until it becomes second nature

Nineteen Fallen Firefighters
ALL are precious
No More No More No More
Lets all go home to fight another day

Be Careful Stay Safe Stay Strong

The Last Alarm

My father was a fireman. He drove a big red truck
and when he'd go to work each day he'd say "Mother wish me luck".
Then Dad would not come home again 'til some time the next day.
But the thing that bothered me the most was the things some folks
would say,

"A fireman's life is easy, he eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for days and days and days."

When I first heard these words I was too young to understand
but I knew when people had trouble Dad was there to lend a hand.
Then my father went to work one day and he kissed us all goodbye
but little did we realize that night we all would cry.
My father lost his life that night when the floor gave way below
and I'd wondered why he'd risked his life for someone he didn't
know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give
is to lay his life upon the line so that someone else might live.
So as we go from day to day and we pray to God above
say a prayer for your local Fireman. He may save the one you love.

Inscribed on the National Monument for Fallen Firefighters
Colorado Springs, Colorado