Message from A/Executive Director Volunteers and Capability Peter O’Keefe
The Annual Firefighters Memorial Service was held in Melbourne on Sunday 2 May to honour our fallen and thank all CFA members for their selfless sacrifice in protecting our community.
The memorial service allows us to pause and remember the 80 CFA members who died in the line of duty. You can view the Honour Roll here (insert link – and develop page)
It is held every year close to International Firefighters’ Day – 4 May – which is a global event started by CFA members in 1999 following the tragic death of five CFA firefighters in Linton the previous year.
CFA leaders (Board members and Executive), Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) members and Victorian Government representatives joined family and friends of the fallen to lay wreaths, light candles, remember lives and honour the personal sacrifices and commitment firefighters make each and every day.
The ceremony included an incredible performance from one of the original singers of The Ten Tenors, Tod Strike; CFA Board Chair Greg Wilson spoke on behalf of CFA.
We were able to visit the new Emergency Services Memorial in Treasury Gardens which is a remarkable public space for everyone to attend and pay their respects to emergency services sector workers and volunteers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Completed in 2020, the memorial site is situated in a peaceful section of the Treasury Gardens. It honours fallen members from CFA, MFB (now FRV), VICSES, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), Ambulance Victoria, Life Saving Victoria and Marine Search and Rescue (MSAR).
As a symbol of continuity from the old site, the original plaques from the Firefighter Memorial at Fiskville are built in to the new memorial site in a vault. The names of our fallen firefighters’ are listed on the wall at the new memorial.
There’s been so much work done at an emergency sector level to develop the new memorial and I want to congratulate everyone involved with its planning over the past few years.
It was an honour to attend Sunday’s service and a privilege to sit among mothers, fathers, siblings, partners and children to remember, and celebrate, loved ones lost.
We will never forget their sacrifice and we will continue to honour them through our work in the community and by continually learning, innovating and improving the safety of our members.
If you were unable to attend or view the event live, you can watch it online here.
View CFA’s roll of honour, which commemorates all fallen CFA members on the CFA website.
