Excerpts from the Chicago Tribune:

On Thursday morning, Firefighter/Paramedic Patrick King and Firefighter Anthony Lockhart – who died fighting a fire on Feb. 11, 1998 – were recalled at the scene of their deaths. They died fighting a fire in the Beverly Tire Store when the roof collapsed. That site is now home to a park named for the men and that’s where the King Lockhart Memorial Statue was dedicated on a bitterly cold morning.

King’s widow, Gina … her thoughts are seldom far from what happened that night at 10615 S. Western Ave. “It seems like it happened last month. Time, they say, heals all wounds. That’s not true,” said Gina, who still wears a necklace bearing a smaller version of her husband’s badge, No. 1407.

Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago called the statue and park reminders “that despite the training and the best equipment available at the time, things can go wrong and do go wrong. This is a dangerous job. We strive to have everyone go home safely. It doesn’t always work out that way. Some described this fire as a routine alarm, but we in the fire service know nothing is routine in this job. There are many places in this city where firefighters lost their lives. This land is unique because it became a park.”

… the park has walking paths and a couple benches – along with bronze boots where each man’s body was found –

The statue by sculptor Marshall Svendsen serves as “a reminder of what firefighters and paramedics are all about. It’s not about them, it’s about others,” said the Rev. Thomas Mulcrone, chaplain of the Chicago Fire Department.

thanks Dan

Tags: Beverly Tire Store fire in Chicago killed two firefighters, CFD firefighter Anthony Lockhart, CFD firefighter/paramedic Patrick King, firefighter memorial in Chicago, Rev. Thomas Mulcrone chaplain of the Chicago Fire Department