The ongoing partial federal government shutdown could disrupt a major annual event honoring firefighters who’ve died in the line of duty.
The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial sits on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, a facility operated by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency. Without the funding from the DHS, the center is closed and organizers are scrambling to find a workaround.
For 45 years, families and friends have gathered each May to honor fallen firefighters. The status of this year’s ceremony is now uncertain.
Victor Stagnaro, CEO of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, said the group is urging the White House, Congress and DHS to allow access to the site for the memorial.
“What we’re asking for is the opportunity to open the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial,” Stagnaro said.
He said they hope to carve out a moment to honor the 204 fallen firefighters from 43 states.
Stagnaro said the ceremony is deeply meaningful for families, offering a place of remembrance despite their loss.
“We want to be able to tell them where their firefighter will be enshrined, where their name … will be on a bronze plaque, as long as there’s a memorial for them to be able to see it,” he said.
If the site remains closed, the foundation is working with nearby Mount St. Mary’s University to host an alternative ceremony on May 2 and 3.
“If we knew by April 20 that it is open and we’re ready to go, it would save us hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Stagnaro said.
The foundation, created by an act of Congress in 1992, is committed to honoring fallen firefighters regardless of the shutdown.
“We will keep our promise, and honor those firefighters and support those families,” Stagnaro said.
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