First responders memorialized
BUTLER TWP — Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel said he finally became a volunteer firefighter because of Bradley Holmes, who was at the scene of a fire that destroyed Boozel’s Harrisville house in 2008.
Holmes, who was a member of Pine Township Engine Company, died shortly after aiding at the fire, and Boozel thought of him in 2020 when he pitched the idea for a first responders memorial to the Butler AM Rotary.
Seeing dozens of people and other first responders attend the dedication of the completed memorial and pavilion at Alameda Park on Friday was a satisfying moment for Boozel.
“I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out,” Boozel said. “I thought we needed to do more to recognize these people who go where the fire is, the danger, and of course, we lose some along the way.”
The unveiling of the monument and shelter Friday, which are near the Odd Fellows Gazebo at Alameda Park, was the culmination of more than two years of work that was facilitated by the Butler County commissioners and the Butler AM Rotary.
The monument is a stone placed on a newly paved platform that also holds a flagpole. The monument has a plaque and the symbols for firefighters, police and emergency medical services engraved on it, and it is dedicated to Butler County first responders who died while performing their duties.
A portion of this story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. More will be available later for subscribers. Please consider supporting our local, independent newsroom by subscribing at butlereagle.com.
