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Emmitsburg, Md. » The eternal foe of the firefighter burns here day and night, a flame lit in tribute to America's fallen heroes.
And Sunday, thousands of people from across the country will gather to honor firefighters who died in the line of duty in recent years, including two Utahns whose names will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
"This is what our country does, come together to say thanks for their service," said Chief Ron Siarnicki, the executive director of the memorial.
The names of Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Michael Penovich, who died in 2007 in a car crash after returning from an official meeting, and that of Calvin Gene Wahlstrom, a Huntsville resident whose air tanker crashed in Nevada last year, are among dozens of firefighters who will be included in the memorial.
Bronzed plaques, all facing an elevated Maltese cross, and ringed by flags of all 50 states make up the memorial at the National Emergency Training Facility, about 90 minutes north of Washington, D.C. The memorial, started in 1981, now honors about 4,000 firefighters.
Family members of those being added to the memorial this weekend snapped photos and paused Saturday, a moment of quiet before the formal ceremony Sunday.
Among them, Shelly Penovich, whose husband's name is already emblazoned on the memorial.
"I haven't cried yet," Shelly Penovich said, as she gazed at the
Penovich, who came with several other family members for the tribute weekend, said it was comforting to be among other families who have faced the same difficult challenges. Everyone, she said, feels like family.
"It's just a huge honor to memorialize him," she said.
Friend Dan Cather, a Provo fire captain and longtime friend of Michael Penovich's, joined his fallen friend's widow for the ceremony. He said the key element of the weekend was feeling the "brotherhood" of other firefighters.
"It means a lot," he said. 'It's not just because he was a friend. He was my mentor."
Family members of Wahlstrom also attended the tribute weekend but declined to comment.
Siarnicki said the weekend was not another funeral for the fallen firefighters but instead a time to pay homage to their service and who they were.
"We try to make the weekend a celebration of life," he said.
