IAFF to Add 288 Fallen Firefighters to Memorial Wall in Colorado Springs

By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• The International Association of Fire Fighters will hold its annual Fallen Fire Fighter commemoration ceremony Saturday at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• The names of 288 fallen firefighters will be added to the granite memorial wall, including Colorado Springs Capt. Patrick Rogacki, who died Aug. 1, 2025, of toxic exposure tied to his work assisting with recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
• The observance honors firefighters who died from on-scene injuries as well as job-related illnesses, including cancer, heart attacks and respiratory disease.
• Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Local 5 has hosted the ceremony since the mid-1980s and coordinates roughly 3,800 volunteer hours to support visiting families.
• The formal ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with a motorcycle Ride of Honor and procession, followed by a downtown bagpipe parade and evening memorial march down Tejon Street.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The International Association of Fire Fighters will hold its annual Fallen Fire Fighter commemoration ceremony Saturday at Memorial Park, adding the names of 288 firefighters to the organization’s granite memorial wall.

Among those honored is Colorado Springs Capt. Patrick Rogacki, who died Aug. 1, 2025, of toxic exposure after assisting with recovery efforts following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The observance recognizes firefighters who died from on-duty injuries as well as job-related illnesses, including cancer, heart attacks and respiratory disease, according to officials.

Thousands of firefighters, emergency medical workers and family members are expected to attend, according to Curt Crumb, president of Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Local 5, which has hosted the ceremony on the third Saturday of September since the mid-1980s. “Our role is to greet families at the airport, get them to their hotels, help them get to the ceremony and take care of most of their transport needs while they’re in Colorado Springs,” said Crumb, a 32-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. He said the effort takes about 3,800 volunteer hours. “There are 356,000 members of the IAFF across the U.S. and Canada, and just about all of them would love to have this memorial in their location,” Crumb said. “To have it here in Colorado Springs is an incredible honor, and we take it seriously.”

The formal ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the IAFF motorcycle Ride of Honor, followed by a procession with an honor guard and pipes-and-drums corps. The names of all 288 firefighters will be read aloud, and each family will receive a folded flag bearing the IAFF’s Maltese Cross emblem. A downtown bagpipe parade follows the ceremony, and Saturday evening, firefighters will march down Tejon Street behind Colorado Springs fire trucks, playing “Amazing Grace” and other traditional songs.

“We honor our fallen by continuing to serve,” Crumb said. “What are we honoring if we lose someone close to us and then fold up our tents? To me, that would be the biggest travesty.”