A crowd gathered outside the Linden Fire Department today to pay homage to eight fallen brothers that died in the line of duty.
The Last Alarm Memorial was held during the Linden Fire Department’s 102nd-anniversary ceremony.
Officials say with more than 100 people in attendance, many of them being family members of the eight late firefighters, Maters of Ceremony Deputy Chief Kevin Brady explained that this dedication is the final act of the Department’s Centennial Celebration.
The time period of the passing of the firefighters being honored in this memorial started in 1931 and ended in 1983 and as Linden Fire department Chief Joseph Dooley stated, “This Memorial has been a long time coming. During the lead up to the 100th Anniversary, we realized that we needed to find a way to honor these men.”
The eight firefighters honored are Firefighter John Mahoney 1931, Captain Albert Wilke 1960, Superintendent of Alarms George Ball 1963, Captain James Dunn 1967, Captain Theodore Peceski 1968, Firefighter James Dunn 1969, Firefighter John Beruck 1974 and Firefighter Lewis Haskell 1983.
This memorial would not have been possible if not for the donation made by the Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.