Thursday, October 07, 1999
Service honors fallen firefighters
250 attend annual procession
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Anna Clements, 3, joins her father Rick during the annual Firefighters Memorial Service.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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Capt. Rick Clements said Cincinnati's annual Firefighters Memorial Service on Wednesday had special meaning for him.
Two of his closest friends — John Earls and Michael Hobing — were among the 38 Greater Cincinnati firefighters whose names were read during final roll call at Memorial Park.
“This year is really the first (memorial service) that's had an effect on my life,” Capt. Clements said, holding his daughter, Anna, 3, in his arms.
Mr. Earls died of cancer and Mr. Hobing of a heart attack.
“You feel grief. But then you're proud in the same sense because these guys loved what they did. I don't think you'll talk to a person here that doesn't love this job,” said Capt. Clements, who is among the 780 members of the Cincinnati Fire Division.
More than 250 firefighters, firefighter recruits, police officers and relatives of fallen firefighters attended the service, which began at Fountain Square and ended at the memorial across the street from Cincinnati Fire Division headquarters at Central Avenue and Fifth Street.
There, Fire Chief Robert Wright paid tribute to active, retired and fallen firefighters who made “personal sacrifices in order to protect others from the ravages of fire, explosions or medical emergencies.”
“You might ask, "What do firefighters gain from this type of service?' They gain the satisfaction of personally contributing to making our community a better place to live, work and raise a family,” Chief Wright said.
“When their careers are finished, they can say, "I loved the demands, the thrills and the adventures.' More important, they can say they took pride in the personal satisfaction of doing what so few are uniquely qualified to do,” he said.
As the procession moved to Memorial Park, bystanders waved to the sea of blue-uniformed firefighters.
Cincinnati's last firefighter to die in the line of duty was Larry Hauserman, in 1981.
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