KINGDOM CITY - Two Missouri firefighters who died in the line of duty last year, along with another killed in a fire in 1849, were honored over the weekend at the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City.
On Saturday, a candlelight vigil was offered for all Missouri firefighters who have died while serving their communities.
On Sunday, the names of three Missouri firefighters who died in the line of duty were added to the monument wall commemorating Missouri firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice while bravely serving their fellow Missourians. Other Missouri firefighters who passed away during 2017 also were remembered during the ceremonies.
"Missouri's fire service is truly a family of dedicated individuals who all share a commitment to strengthening our communities through service to others," State Fire Marshal Tim Bean said. "I am moved each year that we come together to share stories of bravery, devotion to serving others and of the lives these fallen heroes lived and the people they touched while they were with us."
The firefighters whose names were added to the Fire Fighters Line of Duty Memorial Wall are:
Firefighter Jeffery Sanders, 55, Mayview Fire Protection District, June 19, 2017. Sanders, a 32-year member of the Mayview Fire Protection District, had responded to a call for an arcing power line threatening to cause a fire, when a vehicle crashed into a fire truck on the scene, causing his death.
Capt. John Kemper, 59, St. Louis Fire Department, July 12, 2017. Kemper, a 25-year veteran of the St. Louis Fire Department, died one week after sustaining injuries fighting a structure fire on the morning of July 5.
Fireman Wells Colton, 37, St. Louis Volunteer Fire Department, June 26, 1849. Colton was fatally injured in an explosion fighting St. Louis' most disastrous fire. The Great St. Louis Fire started May 17, 1849 on the steamboat White Cloud and quickly spread to more than 20 other steamers along the St. Louis levee, and then destroyed several blocks of downtown buildings. A recent review of historical records connected Fireman Colton's death to the fire.