East Peoria Remembers Lost Firefighters With Annual Ceremony
By: Alexandra Sutter WMBD/WYZZ
Updated: October 21, 2012
EAST PEORIA -- East Peoria firefighters are remembering four of their own.
Today is the 26th annual Firefighter Memorial Service.
Community members and surviving family joined the department at the Festival building.
The service honors four East Peoria firefighters killed in the line of duty, the last of which passed away in 1980.
Lieutenant Gary Grugan said each of them deserve special recognition. "We're here to honor the sacrifice that these men made, that their families made and that they still continue to make to this day. They have a loved one that is no longer with them. It would do them a disservice, it would do the community a disservice, if we did not remember them and honor what they sacrificed for the citizens of this community."
Grugan said the improved technology has helped keep firefighters safe. He said years ago firefighters didn't have the proper breathing masks or the gear to fight a fire.
