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Alexandria firefighters, city officials, retirees and families gathered at Ivy Hill Cemetery on Oct. 10 for the annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony, honoring fire and EMS personnel who died in the line of duty and department members lost during the past year.
Held during National Fire Prevention Week, the ceremony continued a tradition dating to 1856. This year’s observance also marked the 170th anniversary of the Dowell China Shop Fire, which killed seven firefighters in 1855.
Fire Chief Filipe Hernandez said the gathering honors those lost while serving the community and offers an opportunity to learn from past tragedies so they are not repeated.
The ceremony unfolded before the Fallen Firefighters Memorial obelisk, a granite monument dedicated to the seven firefighters killed in the 1855 blaze. Hernandez and Alexandria Volunteer Fire Department President Jay Johnson led the wreath-laying and saluted the memorial while names were read during the Roll Call of the Fallen.
Officials and uniformed firefighters stood with retirees and relatives as roses were placed in remembrance. Former Fire Chief Robert Dube was among those who laid a wreath for a fallen firefighter.
Firefighters honored for deaths in the line of duty or from duty-related illnesses were Harry Moss, who died in 1975; Louis Farri, 2002; Joseph Underwood, 2010; Joshua Weissman, 2012; Charles Davis, 2018; Briant Atkins, 2023; and Brian Hricik, 2023.
The department also remembered recently deceased members Rebecca Bohn, Cecil Carr, Elizabeth Kirk, Deidre Marr and Pamela Boggan.
Historian Catherine Weintraub delivered the keynote remarks. Chris Moss of Alexandria Pipes and Drums then performed “Amazing Grace.”
A moment of silence and the tolling of a ceremonial bell closed the ceremony, symbolizing the final call for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Hernandez said the turnout and camaraderie reflected how much the tradition means to those who return each year to remember familiar faces and honor the department’s fallen.