Annual Firefighter Memorial Service

When

2 p.m. Sunday, October 1, 2023

Where

Outdoors at the new Levee Park in downtown East Peoria, located at 401 W Washington Street
(If inclement weather, the ceremony will be indoors at the adjacent East Peoria Civic Plaza.)

Firefighter Memorial Stone

About the Service

The 37th annual East Peoria Fire Department's annual Firefighter Memorial Service will honor the memory of the four East Peoria firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

Those Fire Department members are:

  • Firefighter George E. Cornwell Sr. and Assistant Chief Marvin J. Stein, who both died January 28, 1959, during a fire at the Green Gables tavern on Meadow Avenue.
  • Captain Armando E. Ballerini, who died June 12, 1972, after having a heart attack at a fire scene.
  • Firefighter William A. Folmar, who died September 27, 1980, when he was hit by a vehicle while on the scene of an accident on Interstate 74's Murray Baker Bridge.

The memorial service include the spoken biographies of the fallen firefighters, a bagpiper, bell-ringing ceremony, and announcement of Fire Department employee awards. The service is open to the public and refreshments will be served after the ceremony.

The annual service is part of the Fire Department's October Fire Prevention Week activities.