Ceremony Honors Fallen Firefighters
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About 150 firefighters and residents gathered at Oxnard City Hall on Tuesday to honor firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
Participants heard bagpipes and looked at a display of fire engines, some with their long ladders raised. It is the fourth year that the Oxnard Fire Department has hosted the event, which is held on National Fallen Firefighter Day.
No Ventura County firefighters have died battling blazes in several years. But across the nation, 91 firefighters perished while on duty in the past year, according to Henry Lenhart, an assistant fire chief with the Oxnard Fire Department.
Toward the end of the event Lenhart performed a bell ceremony that harked back to the early days of firefighting.
“When a fire was put out in the old days, they would use bells to indicate it was all done,” he said. “We’re using the same thing to commemorate the fallen firefighters.”
Firefighters from Ventura, Oxnard and county fire departments participated in the event.
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