Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial moves to online ceremony

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- They're gone but never forgotten; this weekend, 245 firefighters and emergency medical personnel who died in the line of duty will have their name immortalized at the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial.

However, this year will be a little different with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But even with Covid, the International Association of Fire Fighters remains committed to honoring both the fallen firefighters and emergency medical personnel even if it means they can’t be here in person. So the event will be moved to an online ceremony.

Capt. Mike Smaldino, who's coordinating the event, said, “The firefighters, they still died, they still passed away. They still died in fires, they still died from cancers. That didn’t stop, that didn’t go away. We do want to make sure that they are honored.”

And because this year will be all online, next year, all 2020 honoree families will be invited to attend the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial so that those lost will receive proper recognition at a traditional ceremony, with all families receiving their flag.

“We are all going to have them come here next year, so we might be postponing this year but all those families will be able to come back next year as well as the ones from this year that would be normal next year so we expect a pretty big ceremony,” said Capt. Smaldino.

If you would like to stream the memorial this Saturday you can do so by clicking here.