By Caylie Moore, Features Editor
On Monday, Aug. 31, the Gadsden Fire Department gathered at Central Station to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 explosion that claimed the lives of three firefighters — Fire Chief James Ralph Speer, Fire Medic Michael Patrick and Fire Medic Michael Thornton — and injured many others.
In a social media post announcing the ceremony, the department wrote, “Fifty years later, their sacrifice has not been forgotten. We remember. We honor. We will never forget.”
Mayor Craig Ford and Fire Chief Vance Brown both echoed this sentiment during their own speeches at the memorial.
Ford opened the ceremony by thanking those present — including the families of the fallen firefighters — for coming to the event and explaining why the department was still honoring them so many years later.
“I know it’s been 50 years, but one thing Chief Brown and I wanted to do is make sure we don’t forget. We will never forget.”
“When we build a new fire station along the river, we’ll move these monuments, and there’s going to be a place special for these three monuments there,” Ford said, further emphasizing his promise to “never forget.”
Ford was also sure to express his gratitude toward the present-day firefighting brigade for their work, too.
“It’s my job as mayor to make sure these [firefighters] get home safely every night and every morning to their families and their community. They do a great job, and they’re here today to honor you [the crowd]. I want to say thank you for that.”
After Ford’s opening, a lieutenant gave an invocation praying for the fallen firefighters and their families, and the American flag was raised in a somber procession.
Chief Brown then took to the podium to honor the fallen in his own words, beginning with an explanation of what being a firefighter entailed.
“The fire service is more than a profession,” Brown stated. “It is a commitment, a promise to protect our values, serve our community and go forward when others must stop. Our fallen firefighters lived that promise.”
“Every firefighter understands that when the alarm sounds, we do not know exactly what is waiting for us. We only know that someone needs our help, and so we respond,” he continued. “That readiness to answer the call is what makes the fire service a brotherhood unlike any other.”
“Today we remember those that gave everything in service of others. We remember the courage; we also remember the people behind the badge,” Brown said, explaining that these men were not only firefighters — but also husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, friends and coworkers.
“They were people who laughed around the kitchen table, drank beside us, rode the apparatus with us, and sat shoulder to shoulder with us on difficult days. Their absence leaves an empty seat at the table in the space of our hearts that can never truly be filled—” Brown paused. “But their service did not end with their final call. It continues every time a firefighter puts on the uniform or remembers the example they left behind. It continues every time we train a little harder, take care of each other a little better and answer another person’s call for help.”
“What [these firefighters] stood for continues,” Brown stated. “Their courage remains. Their sacrifice remains. Their names remain. And their legacy remains with every firefighter who follows in their footsteps.”
Brown also went on to thank the families of the fallen for their service as well, explaining that he knew it was not easy missing holidays with their loved ones or losing sleep over what might happen to their relatives in the line of duty.
“Our fallen brothers and sisters, your duty is complete, your sacrifice is remembered and your legacy lives on,” he finished.
After the speeches, a bell — the same one that signals the start and end of the work day for firefighters — was rung for Speer, Patrick and Thornton respectively, and with a salute from each and every living firefighter present, the ceremony was concluded.
