Saturday's ceremony to dedicate the Illinois Firefighter Memorial Plaza capped a four-year journey to bring the Elgin monument to fruition.
“We knew what we wanted this plaza to represent,” retired Fire Chief Mike Falese said of the memorial built on the grounds of the Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 Museum. “The message of strength, comfort and the unspoken message of, ‘I am here. You’ll be OK. If you have sorrow, let me help you.’”Falese, who headed both the Elgin and Bartlett fire departments, was a driving force behind the plaza, which is part of the museum’s George Van De Voorde Firefighter Memorial Park at 533 St. Charles St.
Among the names of the Illinois firefighters who died while on the job are Stanley Balsis and Michael Whalen of the Elgin Fire Department, who drowned in 1974 while trying to rescue a teen who became caught in the Kimball Street dam on the Fox River.“Every good story and any worthwhile project usually has a journey,” he said. “I think this plaza has a wonderful story and, sometimes, a challenging journey.
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