801 Crockett Street, Shreveport, Louisiana 71101
318/ 673-6655 ● FAX: 318/ 673-6656 ● www.shreveportfire.org

Kelvin J. Cochran, Fire Chief

October 1, 2002

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Fire Chief Cochran Headed to Washington to Participate in National Fallen Fighters Memorial

Shreveport Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran is headed to Washington D. C. as a representative of our city and of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Division . . .
to participate in this year’s National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Service on Sunday, October 6, 2002.
The service is the only national service that recognizes the sacrifice of all fire fighters lost during the previous year. This year’s annual memorial service will commemorate 2001—the most devastating year the fire service has ever experienced—by recognizing a total of 446 individuals lost in the line of duty from all sizes and types of departments all across the country. Uniformed fire service personnel from across the country and around the world will line the route of the Honor Procession creating a "Sea of Blue." "This is our time to stand up and recognize the sacrifice made by these brave individuals," stated Chief Cochran. The annual memorial service is all-inclusive and recognizes not only the fire fighters who perished on Sept. 11, 2001, but all fire fighters who gave their lives in the line of duty last year. Normally held at the site of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, this years event was moved to Washington where 100,000 uniformed fire service personnel are expected to participate. The event will culmination with a memorial service held at the MCI center.
"It is up to us," stated International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President John M. Buckman, III. "Every fallen firefighter and their families deserve the highest measure of respect and gratitude from every other firefighter for their selflessness and courage in the face of terrible danger. That is and always has been the one and only true purpose of this Memorial event." ###