Please join us in remembering fallen firefighters

All Americans and firefighters around the world are mourning the tragic loss of the nineteen firefighters who gave their lives fighting a raging wildfire in Arizona. This is the single biggest loss of firefighters since 9/11 and 64 firefighters have already died in the line of duty this year.

On Friday, July 5, Cal Fire apparatus engineer / paramedic Christopher Douglas, 41, of Temecula was fatally injured in the line of duty while responding to a crash along Interstate 10 near the Thousand Palms area in Riverside County.

The deaths remind us never to forget the extraordinary sacrifices our first responders and our military make routinely as part of their commitment to their communities and their country.

Fallbrook Firefighters have joined a great foundation that raises money to assist the families of fallen firefighters. All across our nation there are 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs organized to remember the sacrifices firefighters made on that fateful day.

This is the third year the Fallbrook Firefighters have teamed up with the Fallbrook Land Conservancy to utilize Monserate Mountain’s 1,100 feet of gain to create a 9/11 Memorial Hike. The hike resembles the type of terrain and vegetation that wildland firefighters endure and the elevation gain simulates the height of the twin towers.

Funds raised from the hike are donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the families of fallen firefighters.

Please join us on Saturday, September 7, for this year’s 9/11 Memorial Hike. To register for the hike, or donate to the event, go to http://www.fallbrookfirefighters.org or visit the North County Fire administrative office at 330 South Main Avenue, Fallbrook.

Participants can also register for the hike at the ‘Salute to Firefighters’ event on July 20 at the Fallbrook Historical Society.

To donate directly to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation go to http://www.firehero.org.

Please keep Christopher’s wife Amy, who is pregnant, his two-year-old son Sammy, extended family, and his Cal Fire brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers.