By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Their families know – when you leave for your workday as a firefighter, you may not come home. That’s why there are ceremonies such as the annual firefighters’ memorial service outside the Capitol.
The annual event is typically in May, but this year the eve of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 seemed fitting to organizers.
Jim Grady, executive director of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, says first responders are indeed a fraternity – a family, with a bond of service and sacrifice, which is why you may not see a monument or memorial service in many other lines of work. Grady is also retired fire chief of Frankfort, Ill.
The seven fire service employees whose line-of-duty deaths were commemorated Friday:
Firefighter Mario Araujo, Chicago
Firefighter/Paramedic Dylan Cunningham, South Holland
Firefighter/Paramedic Robert Reisinger, River Grove
Firefighter Jacob “Jake” Ringering, Godfrey
Firefighter Edward Singleton, Chicago
Paramedic Robert Truevillian, Chicago
Firefighter Kody Vanfossan, Christopher
Dave Dahl can be reached at News@WJBC.com.
