By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Some area firefighters are leading a charge to build a statewide memorial ­ one that’s been a long time coming ­ for fallen firefighters.

The memorial will be at the Firefighters Training Academy on Sheep Davis Road in Concord.

Gary Lambert, a Hooksett Fire Department captain, is chairman of the New Hampshire Firefighters’ Memorial Construction Committee.

“Not that I want to rush summer, but I can’t wait for it to get here,” Lambert said of the memorial’s dedication, slated for Sept. 10. “There’s a lot of excitement on the part of firefighters.”

Lambert, who’s been with Hooksett Fire for 21 years, said he got involved with the memorial project when he became the county representative for the New Hampshire State Firemen’s Association last September.

Lambert said New Hampshire is rare in that it doesn’t have a statewide memorial for firefighters who died in the line of duty.

“One of my first goals was to get this project completed,” he said.

Much of the work in preparing the memorial has been trying learn about New Hampshire firemen who have fallen while on duty.

Lambert said the state only has records of fallen firefighters dating back to 1985.

“We know of about 40 right now,” said Lambert, who encourages friends and family of fallen firefighters to contact him. “I know there are more than that.”

Lambert has enlisted the help of three of his brothers ­ all of them firefighters ­ to join the construction committee. They are Eric, from Hudson, Aaron, from Bedford, and Keith, from Allenstown.

“I didn’t give them much of a choice,” said Gary, the oldest of the brothers.

The memorial project was born in 2001 through the New Hampshire Fire Chaplain’s Association, who initially raised about $11,000 for the project.

Since September, organizers have raised nearly $40,000 more, but Lambert estimated an additional $25,000 is needed for the plan.

Money is primarily coming from the sale of red bricks, 5,800 of which will provide the memorial’s walkway. People buying bricks can have names engraved on them.

The names of those firefighters who’ve been identified will be engraved on plaques that will also include the firefighters’ departments and the year they died.

On Aug. 26 and 27, Lambert said there will be a “call for brotherhood,” and firefighters from throughout the state will be asked to construct the memorial.

“It will be firefighters building a memorial for fallen firefighters,” said Lambert.

Lambert said he expects the Sept. 10 dedication to be well attended.

“We’ve gotten support from people all the way up in Pittsburgh down to the (Massachusetts) border,” said Lambert.

The dedication will feature the unveiling of a highly confidential centerpiece.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Lambert said. “Everyone’s been trying to get that out of me.”

For more information on the project, or to donate, visit www.nhsfa.org, or call 235-9858. Donations or names to be added to the list can also be sent to New Hampshire Firefighters’ Memorial, 22 Broadway, Pembroke, NH 03275.