Firefighter Memorials

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FIREFIGHTER’S MONUMENT
Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain

       The imposing Firefighter’s Monument at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain was dedicated in 1909 to the memory of deceased firefighters of the Boston Fire Department. It is located within the Firemen’s Lot at the Cemetery. The Lot was established in 1857, with enough space to provide for 249 graves. The first burials at the Lot were for two firefighters who died in the Line Of Duty on May 2, 1858 at 133-139 Federal St., Downtown.
       The Monument was dedicated on June 13, 1909. Special guests were Margaret and Josephine McLean, daughters of Captain Walter McLean, Engine 46, who was chairman of the monument committee.
       The monument is a 9ft, 3in. bronze statue of a firefighter standing atop a granite base. The statue was cast at a foundry in Chicopee, while the base was constructed at Quincy Granite in Quincy. The overall height of the Monument is 26 ft. tall. Attached to the base on the four sides are bronze tablets depicting in bas-relief: a steam fire engine; a hook & ladder truck; a protective wagon; and a handtub pumper. An inscription at the bottom of the base reads: ‘In Memory of Departed Comrades. This Monument Is Erected By The Members And Friends Of The Boston Fire Department. June 1909.
       Each year on the second Sunday in June, the Charitable Association of the Boston Fire Department conducts a memorial service to honor the deceased firefighters buried there and to pay tribute to all firefighters who have given their lives in the fire service. The Firemen’s Lot holds the remains of 137 members of the department, including 15 members who died in the line of duty. The most recent burial was in 2014, for Fire Fighter Michael R. Kennedy, Ladder Company 15, March 29, 2014.

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Vendome Memorial Program, June 17, 1997

The Vendome Firefighters Memorial located at
Engine 2/Ladder 19, 700 East Fourth St., South Boston.

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VENDOME MEMORIAL
Commonwealth Ave. & Dartmouth St., Back Bay

       The strikingly dignified Vendome Memorial recalls the tragedy that occurred just a few steps away on Father’s Day, June 17, 1972. The fire at the Hotel Vendome claimed the lives of nine firefighters and injured many more. This fire remains the largest loss-of-life incident in the history of the Boston Fire Department.
       The Memorial was dedicated on the 25th Anniversary of the Fire, June 17, 1997. It was designed by collaborators at the Third Floor Studio, Ted Clausen, artist, and Peter White, landscape architect. The Memorial is located on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall diagonally opposite the Hotel Vendome building.
       When viewing the Memorial, the focus of the sweeping black stone draws a viewer to look up and across the street to the spot where the collapse occurred. At the apex of the Memorial is a firefighter’s turnout coat and helmet lying as if left there by a firefighter on the day of the fire. The helmet and turnout coat are of 1972 vintage.
       A stone bench is situated to a allow a visitor to read the inscriptions and to contemplate the view to the Hotel Vendome. The incriptions on the Memorial lists each of the fallen firefighters, provides a timeline to the fire, and inspirational quotes on the lives of firefighters and the business of fighting fires. The memorial and bench rest upon a plaza of 154 dark pavers which represent the number of Boston firefighters killed up to and including the Hotel Vendome Fire.
       The nine firefighters who died in the Line Of Duty are:
Fire Lieutenant John E. Hanbury, Jr., Ladder Company 13
Fire Lieutenant Thomas J. Carroll, Engine Company 32
Fire Fighter John E. Jameson, Engine Company 22
Fire Fighter Charles E. Dolan, Ladder Company 13
Fire Fighter Joseph P. Saniuk, Ladder Company 13
Fire Fighter Thomas W. Beckwith, Engine Company 32
Fire Fighter Paul J. Murphy, Engine Company 32
Fire Fighter Richard B. Magee, Engine Company 33
Fire Fighter Joseph F. Boucher, Jr., Engine Company 22

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MAVERICK SQUARE FIRE MEMORIAL
Maverick Square & Henry St., East Boston

       The Maverick Square Fire Memorial recalls the tragedy that occurred just a few steps away on November 15, 1942. The fire and collapse at Luongo’s Restaurant in the old East Boston Lyceum claimed the lives of six firefighters and injured many more. The tragedy was quickly overshadowed 13 days later when 492 persons died at the Cocoanut Grove Fire.
       The fire is known by several names: The Maverick Square Fire; Luongo’s Fire; the East Boston Lyceum Fire. All the names refer to the same fire and collapse, which buried the 125ft aerial ladder truck of Ladder 8, the only white-colored apparatus in the city’s history.
       In the early 2000’s, a brass plaque was installed in the sidewalk near the site. Later, a more prominent monument to the fallen firefighters was proposed. The memorial dedicated on November 15, 2012 is a suitable testament to the fire and the Line Of Duty deaths of six members of the Boston Fire Department.
       The six firefighters who died in the Line Of Duty are:
Hoseman Francis J. Degan, Engine Company 3
Hoseman John F. Foley, Engine Company 3
Hoseman Edward F. Macomber, Engine Company 12
Ladderman Daniel E. McGuire, Ladder Company 2
Hoseman Peter F. McMorrow, Engine Company 50
Hoseman Malachi F. Reddington, Engine Company 33
 
 
 

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CHARLESTOWN FIREFIGHTERS MEMORIAL
Bunker Hill & Charles Sts., Charlestown

       The Charlestown Firefighters Memorial Park is located on a small triangular park at the intersection of Bunker Hill St. and Charles St., Charlestown, adjacent to the former firehouse of Engine 32 & Ladder 9 at 440 Bunker Hill St.
       The park was developed in stages, with the first stage being dedicated in 2005, resulting in the placement of a large granite tablet containing the names of Charlestown natives who died in the Line of Duty in the Boston Fire Department. The second stage, dedicated October 4, 2009, honors firefighters who died in the Line of Duty but were not Charlestown natives. Two rows of granite benches, each dedicated to a Boston firefighter, line a walkway leading to the tablet in the center of the park.
       At the head of the park is granite fountain waterfall, capped with a fire nozzle at the top of the fountain. At the rear of the fountain is a bronze plaque honoring Rev. Daniel J. Mahoney, a Boston Fire Department Chaplain since 1964 and Chief Chaplain since 1991.

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The Steamer mural and tablets at Florian Hall.

The Trumbull Street Fire Memorial Tablet at Florian Hall.

The Hotel Vendome Fire Memorial Tablet at Florian Hall.

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The Fire Fighter Robert M. Greene Memorial at Castle Island, South Boston. (LODD 11/27/1978)

The biographical tablet of Fire Fighter Robert M. Greene, Ladder Co. 23.

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The Fire Lieutenant John J. McCorkle Fish Pier, Castle Island, South Boston. (LODD (10/1/1964)

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The Fire Lieutenant Stephen F. Minehan Memorial on the Pier at 34-44 Charles River Ave., Charlestown. (LODD 6/24/1994)

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The Chief (of Department) John A. Martin Playground at Hilltop St. and Lenoxdale Ave., Dorchester.

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The Fire Lieutenant Edward Walsh and Fire Fighter Michael Kennedy Tot Lot, LaGrange St., West Roxbury. (LODD 3/26/2014)

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The Fire Fighter Gerald P. Dewan, FDNY Ladder Co. 3, Memorial at Engine 30/Ladder 25, 1940 Centre St., West Roxbury. (LODD 9/11/2001)

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The Fire Lt. Paul M. Lentini & Fire Fighter James M. Gibbons Memorial Diamond at East Second & N Streets, South Boston (LODD 1/6/1981).

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Dennis J. Crowe Memorial at the L Street Bathhouse, South Boston.

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Francis L. Murphy Memorial tablet at the Murphy Skating Rink, Day Blvd., South Boston. (LODD 10/1/1964)

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Fire Lt. Kevin M. Kelley Memorial, Huntington Av., opposite Parker Hill Av., Mission Hill. (LODD 1/9/2009)

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Memorial to firefighters in the lobby of One International Place, Downtown.

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Gravestone at the Firemen’s Lot, Fairview Cemetery, Hyde Park, honoring members of the Hyde Park Fire Department.

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Gravesite of Chief of Department William T. Cheswell in Forest Hills Cemetery. (LODD 2/15/1906)

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