The Lake Today

After a high anticipation and long wait, passers-by the G-5 Firehouse in Laurie are now seeing the Gravois Firefighters Memorial construction underway.

The supplier of the gazebo, which is the central point of the firefighters memorial, moved a jobsite trailer onto the site Jan. 4, and now the gazebo frame is fully erected, said Gravois Fire Protection District Chief Ed Hancock.

“The framework of the gazebo is complete, now they can start laying the driveway and walkways around the memorial to complete it,” he said.

This project is funded and coordinated wholly through donations collected by the Gravois Volunteer Firefighters Association; no public funds are being used on the project, Hancock said. He added that in 2006, the Association had started to collect the money to erect the Gravois Firefighters Memorial and passed a bond issue to have the memorial constructed at the new G-5 Firehouse site. However, he said first the firehouse work such as proper drainage for storm water, etc. had to be completed first. He said now that the money has been collected and site ready for construction, work can finally move forward to finish the much-anticipated memorial on the G-5 Firehouse grounds adjacent to the station.

“This project has been 10 years in the making. We finally got the property cleared, collected the $10,000 minimum the association needed to and been able to move forward with construction. We are all very excited to see it all coming together.”

Hancock said the Gravois Firefighters Memorial has many different elements. Inside the gazebo, all the names of past firefighters who have passed on for natural causes, will be on a post. He said this provides a memory of those who helped build the department and served the community.

Then, as visitors approach the walkways, which allows the whole memorial to be handicap accessible from the parking lot to the site, a commemorative plaque will be situated to welcome guests to the memorial. In addition, on the other side of the plaque, another area will list names of firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

“Fortunately, we have never had anyone die in the line of duty, but this is part of the memorial for the future,” he said. “The association volunteers will also plant flowers all around the memorial and make it look very colorful and welcoming.”

From Hancock’s understanding, all the money raised for this project through the Gravois Firefighters Association is all in donations and efforts from the community. No public money – or taxpayers’ funds – were used, and the association tried to also utilize a lot of volunteer efforts and contributed work, outside of a few major elements of the project, to help in construction of the memorial.

Hancock, as is the association, fellow firefighters and community, is excited to see this long-awaited project complete. It will be a place where everyone can enjoy the outside space and remember those past firefighters and those currently working who play an important role in the community.

“Volunteers have helped build our department. We have both career and volunteer firefighters, and neither of them could do their job with out the other,” he said. “This memorial is a real tribute to everybody – volunteer firefighters, spouses and people in the community – who have started and worked so hard to keep this fire protection district going and where it is today. It is truly a tribute to them.”

For more information about the Gravois Fire Protection District, call 573-374-4442.