02-05-2025
Lamont directs flags half-staff for National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Governor Ned Lamont Friday announced he's directing all flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff Sunday, in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Maryland.
The directive applies to U.S. and state flags for the time between sunrise and sunset on Sunday, May 4.
Fallen Wethersfield firefighter to be honored at national ceremony
Flags will be at half-staff at the Connecticut State Capitol building and all other state-operated buildings, grounds, and facilities statewide.
Individuals, private entities and government subdivisions are encouraged to lower their flags for this same duration of time.
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's annual memorial service honors all firefighters in the country who died in the line of duty. It's held at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Among the 140 fallen firefighters' names to be added to the memorial this year is Connecticut's Robert 'Sharky' E. Sharkevich, Sr.
Lamont to honor firefighters who battled 2024 wild fires
Sharkevich died while responding to a brush fire at Lamentation Mountain in Berlin on Oct. 22, 2024. He was an engineer with the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department and retired member of the Hartford Fire Department.
'Firefighters go to work every day ready to risk their lives to protect the lives and homes of complete strangers, and we owe it to them to honor and recognize their fearlessness,' Lamont said in a statement.
'During this year's memorial ceremony, we especially pay tribute to one of Connecticut's own, Robert Sharkevich, Sr. of the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department, who lost his life in the line of duty. I am immensely thankful for the firefighters who protect Connecticut, and I am especially grateful for the families of firefighters who make many sacrifices themselves over the course of their loved one's call to duty. I urge everyone in our state to reflect upon the bravery of firefighters who have given their lives in service,' he continued.
Wethersfield community honors fallen firefighter
Last fall, crews spent weeks battling the Hawthorne fire, which impacted Berlin and Meriden and burned 127 acres of land.
The state held a ceremony Friday to honor firefighters in Connecticut for their extraordinary contributions during the historic bushfire response last fall.
More than 70 departments and organizations in Connecticut and others from outside the state were honored at the ceremony, for their dedication towards fighting those historic brush fires.
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