TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - A Last Alarm memorial service was held Thursday at the SeaGate Centre in downtown Toledo for fallen firefighters Stephen Machcinski and James Dickman.
The SeaGate Centre, which can hold up to 5,000 people, was full, and there was overflow seating in the nearby Huntington Center, where the service was broadcast on monitors. The two men's families, friends and fellow firefighters from all over attended to say goodbye.
The service began with the dramatic posting of the colors by the Toledo Fire and Rescue Honor Guard, along with the IAFF Pipes and Drums.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown spoke, and he and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur presented flags to Machcinski and Dickman's families.
Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins talked about the two heroes, and then Fire Chief Luis Santiago. He fondly remembered each of the men.
"Steve and Jamie might be gone, but they will always be part of our family," Santiago said. "Both of their families will be with us, as well."
The IAFF presented its medal of honor to each of the two families, commemorate the men killed in the line of duty.
As the memorial came to a close, there was a reading of the record, the two men's dates of death, and three rings of the bell each, to indicate a job completed. Then the last alarm.
"They answered their last call for service," said retired Battalion Chief Renzo Maraldo. "May God rest their souls. We'll take it from here, brothers."
The firemen's
. A Catholic mass will be held in honor of the men on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Historic Church of St. Patrick.
If you want to help their families or their brothers in the Toledo Fire and Rescue, click here for suggestions.
