Southeast Kansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial revitalized by local crews

GIRARD, Kan. — The Southeast Kansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial gets a revamp.

The memorial was built in 2003, and the statue put in place in 2017.

Firefighters began cleanup at 9:00 a.m. at the Girard Fire Department.

Teams from across Southeast Kansas also helped put down new rocks, felt paper, and edging.

A memorial service is held each October, but this year they wanted to make the memorial look more fresh.

Girard Fire Department Captain, Daulton Crays, says it’s also a way to continue paying tribute.

“This is important to us. The memorial is to honor all of the fallen firefighters for Southeast Kansas. So it’s important to us to carry on their legacy and keep this looking good and take pride in it,” said Daulton Crays, Girard Fire Department Captain.

“Multiple agencies and multiple individuals have put forth the effort and the time to make sure that this was going to be something that, you know, not only the fire department can pay tribute to, but also the public can see and also pay tribute, especially those people that have family members on our memorial. They can come here anytime and visit it and see it,” said Thomas Vacca, Southeast Kansas Firefighters Honor Guard President.

Vacca hopes the memorial will last for generations to come–continuing to pay tribute to those lost.

The plan is to host a Southeast Kansas Fallen Firefighter Memorial on October 20, and everyone is invited to attend.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.