OGDEN -- The city council approved a resolution Tuesday night allowing the placement of a $1.1 million memorial at Big Dee Sports Park honoring fallen firefighters from across the country.
Councilman Doug Stephens said it will be an honor to have the memorial in Ogden.
Funding for America's Fallen Firefighter Memorial will be raised by a nonprofit organization headed by Mike Leatham, president of SymbolArts, an Ogden company that specializes in custom police badges, patches, pins and other public safety-related jewelry items.
The city will not be required to contribute any money for the memorial that is to be located on a wooded hillside at the south end of Big Dee Sports Park, 1376 Park Blvd. The memorial will become the property of the city after it is built.
Discussions about the establishment of a firefighters' memorial in Ogden has been ongoing for about three years, said John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer.
Big Dee Sports Park was chosen for the location because it offers solitude and a place for the public to quietly reflect and honor fallen firefighters, he said.
Ogden is a natural spot for the memorial because it is centrally located in the West, said King
Leatham did not attend Tuesday night's council meeting and could not be reached for comment.
However, Rich King, an Ogden firefighter who is working with Leatham on the project, said a groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial is scheduled for April.
An 8-foot-tall bronze statue, designed by King, is the centerpiece of the memorial and will be unveiled at the ceremony. The statue depicts a firefighter on bended knee looking down at a helmet and another firefighter standing next to him.
King is hopeful the entire memorial will be finished by the end of the year.
The memorial will incorporate engraved black granite slabs and relief sculpture into a wall that will surround a circle of pavers and a Maltese cross design. The bronze statue will be in the center of the cross. Lighting and flag poles also are part of the design.
The project will be funded through registration fees from the Fire Ride, a local motorcycle event held three times a year, and the sale of 14,000 memorial brick pavers for $100 each, as well as commemorative coins, pins and patches, said King.
Details regarding any money raised to date were not available.
The memorial will not replace the National Fallen Firefighter's Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md., he said. Instead, it will be the largest and most comprehensive monument of its kind honoring professional, volunteer, industrial, military and wild land firefighters who have died in the line of duty, says a memo from the city council.
A ceremony will likely be held annually at the memorial to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said King, who believes the monument will attract tourists to Ogden.
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