A pile of turnout gear weighing 550 pounds rests in the atrium of the Government Center, a memorial to the Superior firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. The seven men “went to work in the morning fully expecting to go home at the end of the shift,” said Capt. Dave Johnson of the Superior Fire Department, but they didn’t.
The memorial rests on a granite base, with the names of the fallen listed above. The glass plaque was installed lower than expected to clear the fire alarm on the wall. Fittingly, the statue rests right below a fire sprinkler.
Family members, including the grandchildren of Firefighter First Class Louis Sylvester, gathered after the ceremony to get pictures beside it.
Sylvester died on Dec. 5, 1949, while riding the fire engine back to the station after responding to a call in Superior’s South End.
“I never knew my grandpa,” said Cathy Gotsky. “I went from what my mother said and how hard it was that he died.” She appreciated the ceremony and the memorial, saying it “is just fantastic to think that he’s being recognized for his duty and service to this town.”
Firefighters and their spouses accept the dangers that come with the job, said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and the memorial will serve as an everlasting reminder of their legacy. The statue and plaque are centered in the Government Center across from the Law Enforcement Memorial. There, Jauch said, it will “touch people they never met but whose lives will be better because of their service.”
The idea for a memorial began with an unexpected ceremony for firefighters led by Lois Carey of Superior. At a Webster Park gathering in 1999, she thanked Superior firefighters for their service. Her theme, said Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger, was “You don’t have to die to be a hero.”
That event kicked off a search to identify and honor Superior firefighters who had died in the line of duty. Carey produced a list of five names, and research by Johnson added two more. Funds for the monument were on hand when a Leadership Superior-Douglas County group decided to make the memorial a reality. Their resulting design was a pile of turnout gear resting on top of a hose with other fire fighting implements propped beside it.
“We put this all together at the fire station and took pictures and sent it down,” said Capt. Lindzi Campbell of the Superior Fire Department.
The design has been so popular that at least three other customers have contacted the artist for similar monuments, she said. Local businesses, including Xtreme Granite and Superior Glass also contributed to the piece.
Seven Superior firefighters are listed on the memorial.
Assistant Driver Leo McCabe died when the fire engine he was riding on collided with a street car June 1, 1926. Truckman Joseph McGillis died Dec. 5, 1926 of injuries sustained when he fell off a fire truck while responding to a call. Lt. Marshall Malvin recovered from a small heart attack at home, went to work, and died Nov. 14, 1928. Capt. Charles Hughes died on May 16, 1939, of injuries received when the ledge he had climbed onto with a hose to battle a fire collapsed. Firefighter First Class Louis Sylvester died Dec. 5, 1949, while riding the tail end position on a fire engine following a call. Pipeman Albert Delcourt was ascending a ladder into an attic when he suffered a heart attack on April 13, 1950. Capt. Walter Rickell was investigating a basement for the source of a fire when he died on Feb. 11, 1956. His last words were “This is where it started.”
Campbell encouraged everyone to stop by, check it out, read through the names and take a moment.
“We’ve been very fortunate to not have any line of duty deaths of recent, but it certainly is something that we don’t take lightly,” she said. “Every day that we show up on shift we plan on doing our very best to get home the next day, take care of each other.”
