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The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Fire Administration announce that the 29th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend will be held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg on October 2-3, 2010. A plaque with the names of 80 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2009 will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, located here on the National Fire Academy campus. Military firefighters who died while performing firefighting duties from 1981-2009 are among 25 from previous years who are also being honored. The plaques surrounding the Memorial, which was established in 1981, will contain the names of more than 3,400 firefighters.

Thirty-two states experienced line-of-duty deaths in 2009. Deaths resulted from vehicle accidents while en route to or returning from emergency calls, training incidents, building collapses, natural disaster response, being struck by objects (vehicles, trees, and gunshot wounds) at the incident scene, falls, heart attacks, helicopter/air tanker crashes, electrocution, and burns/smoke inhalation. Six multiple fatality incidents accounted for 13 deaths. Three multiple fatality incidents occurred at structural fires; two incidents resulted from an apparatus crash and an airtanker crash during a wildland fire, and one involved falls from an aerial device. New York had the Nation's greatest number of line-of-duty firefighter deaths in 2009 with 8, followed by Pennsylvania with 6; and North Carolina and Texas both had 5.

Chairman of the NFFF Board of Directors, Chief Dennis Compton, stated: "Firefighters face inherent dangers every day while protecting the lives and property of their communities. Far too often, they make the ultimate sacrifice. The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend brings their loved ones and the fire service together to honor and remember these selfless men and women. It is a time to reflect upon their lives and to let their families, coworkers, and friends know that they will never be forgotten."

For more information about the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend visit Weekend.FireHero.org.