Firefighters gather to honor Fiorenza, remember dangers

On the 43rd anniversary of the only line-of-duty death in the history of the Bogalusa Fire Department, Chief Richard Moody seized the moment.

Bogalusa firefighters gather behind the memorial
to fallen Capt. Anthony J. Fiorenza during a brief
ceremony marking the 43rd anniversary of his
death. (Photo by John H. Walker)

"We'll have a brief meeting," he explained, "and I'll remind them there is nothing routine about what we do. We always need to be aware of our surroundings."

Not 15 minutes early, units from the headquarters station responded to an alarm generated by a fire alarm.

"It's probably nothing," he and another firefighter discussed. "This is a regular occurrence (from that address), but we roll on every one of them because until you get there and check everything out, you don't know if it's real or not."


Moody said at one time, Resthaven Living Center was notorious for false alarms — "But you have to check every single thing out," he said. "They had walkway in the attic and we'd get up there with our lights and walk the who place, making sure it really was a false alarm."

A photo of Fiorenza hangs in the'
day room at the station named in
his memory. (Photo by John H. Walker)

"They finally check the smoke detectors," another fireman said, "and they were filled up with bugs, causing the contact and sending the alarm. They cleaned them out and no more false alarms,"

Moody said the story that had been passed down over the years was that the fire run on that fateful morning was Anthony J. Fiorenza's first as a captain.

"It had been raining and the old truck they had drowned out," he continued. "The chief came and got him and took him to the fire, in the 400 block of Lexington, just up the street from what is now Dunaway's.

"Back in those days, we used a different nozzle and it shot a harder, more direct stream of water. He was getting kidded by the other guys because it was his first run as a captain and he was late. He grabbed a hose and went in and started spraying things down to make sure it was out.

"He wasn't in there long before it all came down on him."

Moody said firefighters have heard the story and it stands as proof that there are no routine fires, as this one, in a two-story garage apartment used mainly for storage, had been extinguished when something went terribly wrong.

Firefighter Bruce Reid and
Chief Richard Moody look
at an original copy of the
July 8, 1968 edition of the
Daily News with the story of
A. J. Fiorenza's death.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

"I wish I knew how to get in touch with some of his family," Moody said, "just to let them know we remembered him and to let them know we're going to do this every year."

"You know, we gathered and honored Tony when the station was dedicated in his memory, but we've kind of gotten away from that," Moody admitted. "I told the guys I think we need to start back and do something every year, just so we're sure we remember him and remember that we can never be complacent."


(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Anniversary of A. J. Fiorenza's death is Friday; Observance set for 8:30 a.m. at West 8th station

It was early on the morning of Monday, July 9, 1968 when the alarm sounded at what was then known as the Pleasant Hill Fire Station.

Capt. A.J. Fiorenza
(Photo from City of Bogalusa)

Firefighters rolled on the call to a structure fire in a two-story garage apartment in the 400 block of Lexington, led by 12-year veteran Capt. Anthony J. Fiorenza. Fiorenza, 40, had been promoted to captain just four days earlier.

Some 40 minutes later, at about 2:15 a.m., Fiorenza was dead.

On Friday, the 43rd anniversary of the fire, Bogalusa firefighters and members of the community will pause to honor Fiorenza's memory — the only firefighter to die in the line of duty in the department's history.

"We'll gather at 8:30," Bogalusa Fire Chief Richard Moody told wpnewsblog. "We'll gather at the statue at the station (Fiorenza Memorial on West 8th) and honor his memory."

On July 8, 2004, the city officially memorialized Fiorenza with the renaming of the Pleasant Hill Station, which he commanded, as the Anthony J. Fiorenza Memorial Station.

At the time of the fire, Asst. Chief W. F. Raborn said the fire had been extinguished and that three firefighters — Fiorenza, Mickey Bynum and Floyd Knight — were inside the structure, working to ensure it was extinguished.

Fiorenza, who had just entered the structure ahead of Bynum and Knight, was well into the structure, which the owner said was used mostly for storage. Raborn said he shouted a warning as the structure started to collapse. Bynum and Knight, who were closer to the entrance, barely made it out. Fiorenza did not.

Fiorenza was in the middle of the building as the garage ceiling, floor of the upstairs apartment and the walls collapsed on him, burying him under the debris.

The fallen firefighter is remembered as a man who always had a smile on his face and a joke on his lips. "Capt. Tony" is remembered as a man who loved his job and worked hard to take care of his family and community.

On Friday, that community will honor the memory of one of its fallen heroes.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)
(Reader news tip story)