Penn. Middle School to Honor Memory of First Responders
Sept. 08--Kindall Wann said firefighters, police officers and emergency medical workers are drawn to a common cause.
"We do it because we want to make the world a better place and our community a better place," said Wann, a firefighter with the Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Company.
On Tuesday, area first responders, their families and the public are invited to a memorial service at Conrad Weiser Middle School to honor the memory of the firefighters, EMS workers and police officers who died in the line of duty responding during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as all others who died while serving.
The event follows last year's ceremony, which was held at Trinity Evangelical Fellowship Church in Womelsdorf and honored firefighters who had died in the line of duty. This year's event is open to everyone and recognizes all fallen first responders, Wann said.
"It's about being respectful," Wann said. "There's a lot of respect there for all those people who died, not just during 9/11 but through all the years. You have a connection with your brothers in the fire service, and it's the same with EMS and the police."
Speakers slated for the event include Edward Mann, Pennsylvania state fire commissioner; Bill Lillington of the Eastern PA EMS Council; and Alecia Pagerly, widow of Berks County Deputy Sheriff Kyle D. Pagerly, who was killed in the line of duty in 2011.
"Every time that the pager or house siren goes off, we're answering someone's call for help," Wann said. "We want to make sure that these first responders are remembered and they are not forgotten."
The service carries an important message, said the Rev. Kenneth P. Wiest, pastor of Trinity Evangelical Fellowship Church. He said first responders always have to be ready for the unknown and the unpredictable.
"These agencies put their lives on the line every time they go out," Wiest said. "We felt it was really successful last year in a limited space, a small church. We've just made it bigger over what we had last year."
Expanding the service to recognize all first responders was a natural fit, said Robert Martin, Womelsdorf fire chief.
"We started it last year, and we had a good turnout," Martin said. "We had a lot of people showing interest in coming to show their support."
Martin said he hopes the ceremony becomes an annual tradition in western Berks County.
"As long as we have this support, we're going to keep going with it," he said.
Contact Matthew Nojiri: 610-371-5062 or mnojiri@readingeagle.com.
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