CREJ - Building Dialogue - March 2016

The International Association of Fire Fighters Memorial is Rebuilt

Originally commissioned in 1989, these hallowed grounds in Colorado Springs have since been a place of prayer and celebration. In 2014, the International Association of Fire Fighters approved a resolution to reconstruct the memorial grounds to expand the capacity for seating and revitalize the site with the theme of family, honor, pride and community. The driving feature of the memorial is 122 granite panels where the names of fallen fire fighters and emergency medical personnel are engraved and remembered. The panels range from between 2,700 and 3,500 pounds, standing 5 feet in the first row and 8 feet in the last row.


“We spent days in pre-installation and preplanning meetings to ensure every detail was discussed before beginning installation of the granite panels,” said Mike Hamline, project superintendent for JE Dunn Construction. It took 37 days to complete the installation and field modifications of the panels during the wettest May in Colorado Springs’ history. “It was very important to us to get the panels perfect,” said Hamline. “We increased our efficiency from eight hours on the first panel down to one hour, which allowed us to beat our schedule by three days.”


Guardian statues were installed as a new feature of the memorial and stand on the periphery as silent sentinels. The majority of the original granite panels were repurposed as the Family Ring, a walking surface that circles the memorial grounds. The recommissioning ceremony drew over 6,500 visitors and was attended by dignitaries from across the United States and Canada. More than 7,300 fallen fire fighter names are permanently engraved at the site.


About the International Association of Fallen Fighters: Headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa, Ontario, the IAFF represents more than 300,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics in more than 3,100 affiliates. An annual memorial observance is held each year in September in Colorado Springs and attracts more than 5,000 visitors from across North America.