Memorial planned for past, present and future Tulsa firefighters

Tulsa firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep others safe. And now a permanent memorial to their hard work and sacrifice is in the works. It's a bronze statue, dedicated to Tulsa

Thursday, February 10th 2005, 11:13 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep others safe. And now a permanent memorial to their hard work and sacrifice is in the works. It's a bronze statue, dedicated to Tulsa firefighters of the past and those to come.

News on 6 anchor Terry Hood gives us a sneak peek.

The history of a group of Tulsa firefighters dates back well before Oklahoma statehood. Folks are calling Hubert Rouse the "project manager" behind this operation. He says the department got the inspiration when it began annual memorial services for fallen firefighters and firefighters who died after they had retired.

They wanted something permanent to honor those who had given any part of their life to keeping the city safe. Planners tapped firefighter Craig Deerinwater to put their ideas on paper. He designed a double statue, one with the uniform and tools of a fireman from the early 1900, and the other, a modern-day firefighter.

Deerinwater says he had to revisit the past to make sure he was doing it justice. "You get old stories, talk to old firemen and see what it was like back in the past, look at yearbooks to see what the equipment looked like, and the challenge was rendering that on to paper."

There's no word yet on where the statue will go up. Deerinwater says every time they think they've found a spot, something comes up and they have to start looking again.