Final bells toll for fallen firefighters
An interagency color guard folds flags to present to the familes of the dead on Friday, Aug. 15, 2008, at the Lithia Motors Amphitheater on the Jackson County Fairgrounds near Medford, Ore. to honor nine men killed in a helicopter crash in Northern California. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd) ToolsBy KATU Web StaffCENTRAL POINT, Ore. - Despite withering summer heat, a large crowd estimated at about 4,000 attended a solemn memorial to nine firefighters killed in a helicopter crash in Northern California on August 6.
The families of the fallen men were given folded American flags, small statues of a firefighter, firefighter's helmets and other remembrances in a ceremony that last 90 minutes Friday morning.
The ceremony took place in Central Point, Ore., near Medford. Family members, forestry officials and co-workers took turns telling remembrances of each man before a large crowd that included family members, friends, law enforcement members and other firefighters. At the end of the ceremony, the name of each man was read and then a bell was rung in the traditional "5-5-5" pattern that signals a fire is out and a firefighter's mission is complete. Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace" as the ceremony ended. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Four men survived, three remain hospitalized.
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