By O’Dell Isaac
The Gazette
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Saturday will be a solemn, mournful and critically important day for Colorado Springs firefighters and their families, as well as their counterparts across the U.S. and Canada, as the International Association of Fire Fighters holds its annual Fallen Fire Fighter commemoration ceremony at Memorial Park.
This year, the names of 288 fallen firefighters will be etched into the granite memorial wall, including Capt. Patrick Rogacki, a Colorado Springs firefighter who died Aug. 1, 2025, of toxic exposure after assisting with recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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The observance honors firefighters who have died as a result of on-scene injuries, but also fatalities from illnesses related to the job, including cancer, heart attacks and respiratory issues, officials said.
Thousands of firefighters, emergency medical workers, family members and friends are expected to attend the ceremony, said Curt Crumb, president of Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Local 5.
“We have hosted this ceremony on the third Saturday of September every year since the mid-1980s,” said Crumb, who has been with the Colorado Springs Fire Department for 32 years.
“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 .”
That includes transportation to and from the airport, the ceremony and around the city, an effort that takes about 3,800 volunteer hours to accomplish, Crumb said.
“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,” he said. “To have it here in Colorado Springs is an incredible honor, and we take it seriously.”
“Local 5 does such an amazing job,” said Meredith Klube, former general manager of Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub. “They take care of everything, making sure the families need for nothing. The event would not be what it is if it weren’t for Local 5.”
The formal memorial observance begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the IAFF motorcycle Ride of Honor, followed by a grand procession with an Honor Guard and a pipes-and-drums corps. The names of all 288 firefighters will be read aloud, and each family will be presented with a folded flag bearing the Maltese Cross emblem of the IAFF.
“It’s a massive observance,” Crumb said. “It seems to get bigger every year.”
Following the ceremony will be the annual downtown bagpipe parade. On Saturday night, Tejon Street will be transformed into a mobile memorial as hundreds of firefighters, led by Colorado Springs fire trucks, march down Tejon Street, playing “Amazing Grace” and other traditional songs.
“Thousands of people spill out onto Tejon Street — a sea of people,” said Klube, co-owner of The Brit Pub. “It’s awe-inspiring. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere.”
Firefighters descend upon downtown on Saturday evening, mingling with families and local residents, Klube said.
“It’s like a giant wake,” she said. “It’s somber at times, but it’s also very much about togetherness, meeting new people, seeing old friends and holding each other up during the darkest times.”
The weekend will have its share of mournful moments, but it’s also a celebration of the lives of the fallen as well as a recommitment to an inherently dangerous yet fulfilling job, Crumb said.
“We honor our fallen by continuing to serve,” he 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.”
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