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Emmitsburg, MD: The Fallen Firefighters Memorial is where firefighters who are killed in the line of duty are honored. Photo by Rick Kemenyas/ FEMA News Photo
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WIU has donated a brick to be placed on the Walk of Honor at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg. Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA News Photo
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Western Honors Fallen Firefighters

November 19, 2008

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MACOMB, IL -- With a single brick and small donation, Western Illinois University has honored fallen firefighters forever and now has a permanent place in Emmitsburg, MD. Thanks to Richard Carter, director of WIU's Board of Trustees Bachelor Arts (BOT/BA) degree program, the brick inscribed with WIU's logo has been placed in the Walk of Honor at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg.

"The first 21 sections of the walkway are now in place with more than 6,000 bricks, which are placed twice a year," stated a letter to WIU's BOT/BA program from Chief Ronald Jon Siarnicki, executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. "When completed, the landscaped walkway will connect the different sections of Memorial Park -- the National Monument, the historical Fallen Firefighters Chapel and the Memorial Plaza."

According to Carter, WIU's brick was placed in September along with bricks from Western's seven partner institutions in the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) section of the Walk of Honor.

"Western Illinois University's BOT/BA degree program is one of the original FESHE seven institutions and programs selected to charter the Degrees at a Distance Program (DDP), a higher education project of the National Fire Academy," explained Carter. "The DDP program provides access to higher education for all fire service personnel and allows them to earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university without losing time on the job. The National Fire Academy selected WIU as one of seven institutions because of the BOT/BA degree program and its flexibility. WIU has been affiliated with the National Fire Academy's DDP since its inception in 1980."

The National Memorial Park project is currently underway in Emmitsburg, and when it's completed, it will be the first permanent park in the U.S. that honors all members of the fire service.

"The park will include the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial designated by Congress in 1990 as the official monument to all fallen firefighters," states the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's website (firehero.org). "Plaques around the monument bear the names of [more than] 2,900 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since 1981."

For more information about WIU's BOT/BA degree program, visit wiu.edu/BOTdegree or contact Carter at (309) 298-1929 or R-Carter@wiu.edu. Learn more about the Degrees at a Distance Program (DDP) at wiu.edu/ses/distance and about the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education project at usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/higher_ed/feshe/feshe_ddp.shtm.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing