The Las Cruces Fire Department and the Veterans Advisory Board will commemorate National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend with a flag-raising and bell ceremony at precisely 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway.
The ceremony will honor the 87 firefighters throughout the country who died last year in the line of duty and is open to the public.
In 2001, President George W. Bush approved legislation requiring the United States flag to be lowered to half-staff on all federal buildings to memorialize fallen firefighters.
The Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD) proudly serves New Mexico's second largest city with professional firefighters, who are licensed EMTs, and civilian employees.
The department responds to more than 14,700 calls for service annually with seven engine companies, two truck companies, a battalion chief, and several support vehicles. In addition to fire suppression and emergency medical services, LCFD also offers special response teams that provide technical rescue, hazardous materials response, and aircraft rescue firefighting.
Las Cruces has obtained a Class 1 rating from the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), making it the first in New Mexico and one of only 97 communities nationwide, to achieve the top ranking. The rating is based on a scale of 1 – 10 with 1 being the highest. The rating could result in lower insurance premiums for residential and commercial policy holders.
The LCFD is dedicated to the use of best practices and provides its professional firefighters state-of-the-art training to keep Las Crucens safe and to meet the expanding needs of a growing community.
Information from city of Las Cruces