Countywide : Monument Begun for Firefighters

Standing at the dedication of the county’s police monument more than a decade ago, Msgr. John Sammon overheard a child in the crowd ask his grandmother where the monument to firefighters was located.

“She had to tell him there was none, and it occurred to me on the spot that there should be,” said Sammon, who has been a chaplain to fire departments in the county for 51 years.

After years of planning and fund raising, Sammon’s vision came closer to reality Thursday when the 77-year-old priest and county officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the planned granite and brass monument.

Planned for a shady lawn just north of the county administration building in Santa Ana, the monument will have three wedge-shaped sections that taper together and meet 12 feet off the ground. A bell made of brass collected from county fire stations and trucks will be suspended from the top of the sculpture.

The firefighter oath of service will be inscribed on the structure, and organizers of the campaign to build the $50,000 monument said it is likely that plaques bearing the names of those who died in the line of duty will surround the site.

“But this is not a memorial, it is a monument,” said Sammon, who is chaplain to 18 county fire departments. “It represents the past, present and future of the fire service family and their dedication and total commitment.”

Dedication and commitment are words many fire officials use to describe Sammon’s tireless efforts, which range from personal counseling for troubled firefighters to his appearing at emergency scenes to offer support.

“He is the classic example of the indispensable man,” said Martel Thompson, the retired fire chief of Orange and a monument campaign organizer. “None of this would have happened without him.”

Fountain Valley Fire Chief Richard E. Jorgensen said the monument should be completed by late September, and Oct. 9 has been selected for the debut ceremony. To celebrate the occasion, a parade featuring trucks from every public, private and military fire department in the county is being planned, Jorgensen said.

A fund-raiser is now underway to add a $40,000 statue to the base of the monument, depicting a firefighter cradling a rescued child. To make donations, contact Jorgensen at (714) 965-4436.