Salem honors fallen firefighters

Breanna Edelstein, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·1 min read

Jun. 13—SALEM, N.H. — The town's firefighter memorial service, held the second Sunday of each June, drew several dozen people to honor former members of the department who have died.

A total of 101 names, those of volunteers, on-call firefighters, full-time paid firefighters and dispatchers, are etched into the town's memorial at Pine Grove Cemetery.

Each name was read aloud by one of Salem's newest firefighters, Greg Emanuelson, Alex Guzman and Michael Fuller, who completed recruit school two days prior.

Chief Larry Best told those gathered, "Everything we have today, from our fire stations to our 90-member strong department, from our time-honored traditions to this very monument, and how we envision our growth as a department, came from those before us."

Elanor Foster and her grandson Philip placed flowers at the memorial in honor of her father, firefighter Charles Lester Kimball, who was killed in the line of duty 67 years ago on July 19, 1954.

Khelvyn Estrella and Luke Bottomley from the Salem High School marching band played taps.

After a two-year pandemic pause, those who attended were invited back to department headquarters for a traditional breakfast gathering.