Monument honors fallen firefighters
December 28, 2002 | The Buffalo News
The warped and twisted steel I beams lying in front of the Buffalo Fire Department’s memorial to fallen city firefighters set the stage for reflection.
Some ask if the beams were once part of the fallen World Trade Center towers, where 343 New York City firefighters died Sept. 11. The memorial’s designer says no, but he welcomes such musings. The ruined steel serves as universal evidence that firefighting is dangerous.
The memorials black painted, 8 –foot tall steel cutouts show two firefighters dragging a collapsed comrade from harm’s way. Perhaps a burning house. It is open to interpretation.
‘’The intention was to tap into the spiritual aspect of those who have passed on, ‘’ said retired Deputy Fire Commissioner John A. Lydon, an architect who designed the memorial to honor the city’s.
“Forests were the first temples of God and in forests men grasped their first idea of architecture”