By FireRescue1 Staff
STOCKTON, Calif. — A memorial statue that had to be taken down due to several vandalism incidents will soon find a new home.
CBS Sacramento reported that the Stockton Fire Department was forced to place the statue that honors fallen firefighters in a storage unit after it was defaced and broken.
“It’s a shame it was desecrated many times. They tried repairing it and securing it down, but I don’t know people would just tear it up,” resident Kathleen Gapusan said.
The firefighters are now planning to move the statue to a new location that will be surrounded by a fence and monitored 24/7.
“Plans are being developed right now, and we also have to get a final approval from the city to move it there, and we also have to raise funds because it’s not going to be cheap,” Battalion Chief Jonathan Smith said.
The department hopes to raise at least $80,000 to cover the moving funds as well as keeping the statue maintained.
“It’s important for the community; it’s important for our members that are retired, our active members. It’s basically a healing process we went through about 20 years ago, and it’s very important to have that memorial back up,” Chief Smith said.
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