The sound of bells rang out Saturday honoring some local firefighters who died in the line of duty years ago….
The bells were part of a formal ceremony outside Danville’s Number 3 fire station on Griffin Street. It honored five Danville Firefighters and two area volunteer firefighters who died between 1915 and 1983.
Danville Fire Chief Don McMasters noted firefighters know the dangers…
{AUDIO: ‘’When you take the oath, take this job, you know that you’re taking the possibility of something like this happening. It’s the nature of the job. Everyone that chose to do this – to step into this profession – knew going into it that there’s a possibility that this is the way that it could end.’’}
And McMasters says firefighters have a weapon they use daily in hopes of preventing future tragedies….
{AUDIO: ‘’We train absolutely daily. We train, and we train, and we train. You don’t train just to get it sort of right – you train until it’s perfect to avoid instances where we would be having to honor another person past the people that have already been honored.’’}
(Firefighters prepare to start the ceremony.)
A number of retired firefighters attended the ceremony.
Those firefighters who died while serving local citizens include:
- Albert Holmes and Albert Shanks, both of whom died fighting a Danville fire on February 17, 1915…
- William Schroeder, who died November 1, 1936…
- Leo Buck White, who died January 25, 1941…
- Lieutenant Gene Anderson, who died August 11, 1976…
- Hubert Golden of the Bismarck Fire Protection District, who died in 1983…and
- Wayne Turpin, a Fairmount – Vance Township Firefighter, who also died in 1983.
(A truck responds to a call from the Griffin Street station right as Saturday’s ceremony was starting.)
