REDDING, Calif.– Redding Fire Station No. 8 held a community event Saturday morning to raise money for a memorial honoring the men and women who’ve lost their lives saving others.
Deputy Chief Eric McMurtrey with Redding Fire Station No. 8. Remembers them all fondly.
“I worked personally with Jeremy, not only at work but his family and our family were friends,” said McMurtney about Jeremy Stoke, a firefighter killed in the Carr Fire.
“I also worked for Chief Gerry Gray who is one of our other line of duty deaths, as well as Captain Ed Andrews, who I also worked with; all three of our line of duty deaths that will be memorialized on this wall,” said McMurtrey.
The station had a lot of people come out for their $8 for Eight Fundraiser.
The community got a chance to meet the crew, tour the trucks and station, and eat some BBQ., but this event wasn’t just about seeing behind the scenes of the day in the life of a firefighter.
It’s about raising money for a memorial honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
But McMurtrey doesn’t need a memorial to remember what the names going on that memorial mean to him.
“I was very honored and privileged to work with those guys, very exceptional firefighters. Chief Gray was a chief and a leader that would give you the shirt off his back. Jeremy was just fun to be around, a hard worker, a bull dog when it came to firefighting and just a good human. Ed Andrews taught me a lot when I first got on here; a good captain, another hard worker, and all three of them are sorely missed by myself and the department,” he said.
Lori Moretti is a Redding Fire and Police chaplain who helps families and community members grieve through times of death.
“It just affects all of us in the community, so this memorial is a great place for them to come and to have a moment of peace and to remember and to appreciate,” she said.
The memorial will likely cost several hundred thousand dollars and the event is about getting those funds started.
To donate to the memorial, click here and scan the QR code.