National Foundation for Public Safety

Firefighter Memorial Statue  Unveiled in downtown Chicago!

The National Foundation for Public Safety honors the major civic event last month to unveil a new statue dedicated        to fallen firefighters in the heart of downtown Chicago          (see photos below).

The statue, a sculpture-in-bronze, honors the service and sacrifice of fallen Chicago Firefighter Walter E. Watroba, his family, and all Chicago Fire Department personnel.

The Hon. Edward M. Burke, Dean of the Chicago City Council, served as Master of Ceremonies as the statue was unveiled by Mrs. Watroba together with Chicago Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco Jr. and Fire Captain George Rabiela (ret.) inside the fire station before being set in place across from Millennium Park along the Magellan Aqua Lake Shore East Residential Development’s Firefighter Walter E. Watroba Memorial walkway leading up to the fire station where Firefighter Watroba was assigned on north Columbus Drive (see the Lake Shore East Community Corner link).

This extraordinary civic gift to Chicago honors the tremendous service and sacrifice made by our firefighters and serves to ever-recognize the needs of our public safety personnel and their efforts to save lives and property.

The foundation further acknowledges all those who made    the tremendous contributions that made this new statue,     this civic event and the project behind the memorial-in-progress a reality (see Artist's Rendering & full story in the Lake Shore East Community Corner link):

DEDICATION OF THE FIREFIGHTER  WALTER E. WATROBA MEMORIAL STATUE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:

Event News & Video (click on):

Chicago Tribune, ABC 7 News Chicago, YAHOO! News, Fire Engineering.com, Reuters, Business Week, Firehouse.com, The Greater North Michigan Ave. Assoc. & WBBM NEWSRADIO780.

>>Listen to brief audio announcing the project

How-to-help:

To help with this special Memorial to Chicago's Firefighters       (see Artist's Rendering), in downtown Chicago across           from Millennium Park, you may contribute to the  Firefighter Watroba Memorial Fund by making out a check        to the National Foundation for Public Safety, or N.F.P.S. and writing in Firefighter Watroba Memorial in the memo area.

Mail your contribution to:

National Foundation for Public Safety
980 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60611

The National Foundation for Public Safety                (NFPS) is a federally registered 501(c)3              public not-for-profit corporation.

Feel free to visit this new and expanding website page that       the NFPS has dedicated to the Firefighter Memorial   www.yoursafetymatters.org

<<<an audio reminder of the unveiling that aired on the morning of the ceremony.

>> Special Acknowledgements (continued from  previous column):

Mrs. Janice Watroba, Wife of Firefighter Watroba,       the Watroba family; The Chicago Firefighter Memorial Statue Master of Ceremonies Hon. Edward M. Burke, Alderman of Chicago's 14th Ward, Dean of the Chicago City Council, & Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance, and his Staff including Dan Pascale & Edwardo Garza; Chicago Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco Jr. and his command staff and all Chicago Firefighters; the Chicago City Council and all representatives of the City of Chicago; Father Matthew McDonald, former Chicago Fire Department  (CFD) Chaplain who gave last rights to Firefighter Watroba at the scene;  Father Thomas Mulcrone, CFD Chaplain; the ComEd Corporation's Barry Mitchell, President & COO, & Paula Condrad, & Fidel Marquez, Exelon Corporation; Midwest Generation Corporation's Guy Gorney, President, Midwest Generation, & Charles Parnell; James Loewenberg, Co-Chairman, Magellan Group & the Aqua Residential Development in             Millennium Park's Lake Shore East Neighborhood - Major Sponsor and Program Coordinator for the Firefighter Watroba Statue and Memorial;                  Robin Loewenberg Berger, President, NNP Residential,  & Chief Marketing Officer, Magellan Development Group; Tricia VanHorn, Vice President, Marketing, Magellan Residential Development, & NNP Residential; Sharon Kotas, Magellan Residential Development;  Scott M. McQuillan, McHugh Contruction;                  Hines Construction's Richard Oiva & Owen Smith;  Alderman Brendan Reilly; CFD 1st District Chief Jose Santiago; Chief Kevin MacGregor, CFD Special Events  Coordinator; CFD Deputy Fire Commissioner James Kehoe; CFD Asst. Deputy Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff; CFD Fire Capt. (ret.) George Rabiela; Myles Berman, Foley & Lardner, LLP; Marshall Svenson, Sculptor behind the bronze Firefighter Watroba Statue, True Form Productions; John Alaniz, Chicago Firefighter & Artist behind the bronze Firefighter Flag marking the date of the fire; Jay Doherty, City Club    of Chicago; the Studio Gang group's Jeanne Gang, & Claire Halpin; all the people at the civic event planners Jasculca/Terman & Associates; including  Steven J. Solomon, Jennifer Solomon, Angela O'Connor, Ellie Abrams, Karla Bailey Laura Vonderhaar, Emily Widmer, Kristi Sebestyen, & James Chase;          Swiss Hotel; Eli's Cheescake; O'Leary's Fire Truck Tours; the CFD Pipes & Drums; CFD Color Guard; all retired and active firefighter and paramedic members   of the Chicago Fire Dept., representatives of Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, as well as additional and most specific mention of all Chicago Firefighters who worked with Firefighter Watroba.

Additionally we would like to acknowledge the special assistance of all Chicago Police Department  personnel; the Walchuk family for their provision of funds, & private transport services enabling the foundation to bring the Watroba family directly to and from the ceremony, the Chicago media representatives who covered this most significant civic event, and     the many, many support staff and volunteers, and the representatives of the Hundred Club along with everyone who attended this most special and important occasion. 

Photos courtesy of True Form Productions

Several hundred people attended the civic event. Above, the Statue and Flag stand covered to the left of the podium as the tribute to Firefighter Watroba, his family and all Chicago Firefighters commences at the fire station where Firefighter Watroba was assigned to Engine Co. 13.

The Civic Event MC Chicago Alderman Edward Burke and Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco present the Watroba family the Memorial Statue and Flag immediately after the uncovered.