Dec. 3, 2008 will mark the ninth anniversary of the fire at a cold storage warehouse that claimed the lives of six Worcester, Mass. firefighters -- it will also in many ways mark a new beginning for the department.

A new fire station will exist on the very soil the fallen firefighters gave their lives, and next to it will stand a remembrance wall that will serve to honor their sacrifice.

The wall will consist of a slab of granite standing about six feet high and running about 12 feet.

Dec. 3 will mark the ninth anniversary of the fire at a cold storage warehouse that claimed the lives of six Worcester, Mass. firefighters -- it will also in many ways mark a new beginning for the department.A new fire station will exist on the very soil the fallen firefighters gave their lives, and next to it will stand a remembrance wall that will serve to honor their sacrifice.

The wall will consist of a slab of granite standing about six feet high and running about 12 feet. Carved into the granite will be an image of six firefighters in action. In front of the wall will be a pedestal with a folded bronze coat and helmet sitting on top of it. Behind the pedestal will be a bronze sculpture of a firefighter kneeling, giving reverence to his fallen brothers.

Along with the dedication, the seventh and final Worcester Fire Department Safety and Survival Seminar will be held on the same day as the dedication.

"A lot of positive came out of our negative," Lieutenant John Daly said. "It's time for us to wrap it up and I can't think of a better way."

Creating the Memorial

Worcester Captain Kevin Maloney met sculptor Brian Hanlon at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore in 2007. At the time, Hanlon was working on a sculpture for Holy Cross College -- located in Worcester -- and he stopped Maloney after spotting the department's logo on his shirt.

The department had been talking about creating a monument on the grounds of the new station, and after Hanlon shared some of his prototypes with Maloney, things started taking shape.

The total cost of the project will cost the department approximately $110,000 -- the rest of which they hope to raise through the proceeds from this year's seminar, along with a raffle for a 2009 Honda Civic.

The department already had close to $60,000 in funds from past safety seminars and donations from fellow firefighters. In 2001, shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the department donated the money raised that year by the seminar to a fund set up by the FDNY.