Community members and local officials joined first responders and their families on Friday for the 44th Kankakee County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service.

The event is held on the northeast corner of the Kankakee County Courthouse lawn where a stone memorial wall is engraved with the names of eight local first responders who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.

The ceremony began with the posting of the colors accompanied by bagpipes, followed by the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance and an opening prayer.

“Just a few weeks ago, we all likely watched the news stories remembering the September 11th attacks on our country from 24 years ago,” Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe said as he began his remarks.

Rowe referenced the many videos chronicling the tragic terrorist attack in which you see civilians fleeing from the scene. Yet upon looking closer, men and women can be seen running toward the chaos and into the blazing towers.

“Those were the firefighters, and they were running into certain death.”

Rowe continued that the community need not look back 24 years and hundreds of miles away for that example.

Local emergencies have shown the courage of firefighters in Kankakee County countless times, Rowe said, because, “God has blessed us with the best fire service, with the best firefighters and with the bravest hearts.

“These are men and women who don’t hesitate when the call comes, who put their lives on the line, not for glory, but out of duty, out of love for the community that they serve and out of an unshakable commitment to protect others, no matter the cost.

“The names on this wall bore all of that responsibility,” Rowe said. ”They served their community, our community, to the death of themselves, to the loss to their family. They had wives, and they had sons, and they had daughters. And these men died as firefighters, serving to protect and save any one of us. And ultimately made the sacrifice for all of us."

The memorial, he said, is held to honor their lives and their memories as well as their families.

“The very least we can do is say ”thank you" to our families of our fallen for your sacrifice and for bearing that pain that we are certain never goes away,“ Rowe said. ”We have not forgotten the sacrifice of your loved one. We have not forgotten your sacrifice and we pledge to never forget."

A wreath ceremony followed the remarks with the family members of fallen firefighters coming forward to place the wreath at the base of the memorial wall.

Kankakee Fire Chief Brian LaRoche gave a reading of “The Fallen Firefighter” and read aloud the names of each of Kankakee County’s fallen as a flower was presented to family members or laid upon the wall in their memory.

A reading of “The Firefighter’s Prayer,” which is also etched into the memorial wall, was then given by Bourbonnais Township Fire Protection District Firefighter/EMT Bill Haas.

The bell speech, led by Bourbonnais Fire Protection District’s Battalion Chief Ken Gebhardt and Lt. Wyatt Gustafson, was accompanied by the ringing of the bell which honors the fallen.

The sound of “Amazing Grace” performed on bagpipes and taps on trumpet rang out over the courthouse lawn as the solemn ceremony came to a close.

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2025 Kankakee County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service Flowers rest upon the memorial wall as a firefighter's reflection is seen on the engraved prayer during the 44th Kankakee County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette/Tiffany Blanchette)

The eight names etched onto the memorial wall include:

• Firefighter Arthur A. Steirs, Kankakee Fire Department: Dec. 17, 1921

• Firefighter Lawrence M. Thornburg, Aroma Fire Department: March 21, 1958

• Firefighter Edwin Anderson, Aroma Fire Department: June 3, 1958

• Firefighter Robert E. Dabbs, Reddick Fire Department: Oct. 7, 1964

• Firefighter Michael D. Taylor, Otto Township Fire Department: April 16, 1982

• Firefighter Bruce F. Spaulding, Bourbonnais Fire Department: April 26, 2003

• Chief Matthew P. Hubly, Kankakee Township Fire Department: Feb. 7, 2008

• Lieutenant Frank W. Fouts, V, Kankakee City Fire Department: July 1, 2010