On February 24, 1989, our crews responded to a report of a building fire at the Sunrise Gift Shop in south Orange County.  Engineer Todd Aldridge and Firefighter Mark Benge donned their gear and headed fearlessly into the building to determine the source of the smoke.  The citizens who were in the building were evacuated safely but as Todd and Mark were attempting to get to the source of the fire, the roof collapsed and they were trapped.  These were the first two line-of-duty deaths for the Orange County Fire Department but unfortunately, they were not the last.  In 1994, Lt. Ronnie Russell was helping load a patient onto a helicopter from the scene of an auto accident in the Zellwood area when he went into cardiac arrest.  In 2004, Firefighter Bill Shapiro suffered a fatal heart attack after working tirelessly to assist the victims of that year's terrible hurricanes.

It is our desire to build a memorial to these heroes who died while giving their all to the people of this community.  The memorial will be a granite covered wall with the helmet shields of each of these fallen firefighters.  The helmet shields will be engraved with their names and the date of their deaths.  The memorial will also have a bronzed set of firefighting protective gear and will be located at Orange County Fire Department Headquarters building.  We hope that this memorial will serve as a reminder to everyone of their sacrifice and the dangers that each firefighter faces as he/she responds to emergency calls.

Because we will not be using any taxpayers dollars for this memorial, we must raise the funds needed by donations from those who recognize and appreciate those who spend their lives serving others. 

Donations towards this memorial may be made at any Orlando Federal Credit Union bank or may be mailed to:

Orange County Fire Rescue Fallen FF Memorial
P.O. Box 5879
Winter Park, Florida  32793

Please make checks payable to:  OC Fallen FF Memorial Fund