A Franklin fire district chief killed last year while battling a wildland fire will be among the 72 fallen firefighters honored this weekend in Maryland.
Franklin Fire District 4 Chief Chet Bauermeister, 46, died June 23, 2010, when an ATV he was on flipped and rolled down a steep slope at a fire in Adams County.
The Basin City fire district was one of several agencies called to help extinguish the 42-acre fire.
Bauermeister, who became the district's third fire chief in 2003 when his father retired, will have his name added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial this weekend.
The memorial, established in 1981, contains the names of more than 3,500 firefighters killed in the line of duty.
"Firefighters are called upon to face danger on a daily basis," said Chief Dennis Compton, chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation board. "In October, a grateful nation will honor their dedication and remember their sacrifice."
About 10,000 firefighters, survivors and friends are expected to be at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md., for the 30th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend.
The firefighters killed in 2010 will be remembered during a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. today, and again at the memorial service that starts at 10 a.m. Sunday. All times are Eastern.
During the service, flags that have been flown over the Capitol will be presented to surviving family members.
Bauermeister is the only firefighter from Washington who died on duty last year.
Twenty-seven states lost firefighters in line-of-duty deaths last year, officials said.
The deaths included vehicle crashes during emergency calls, building collapses, natural disaster response, falling, drowning, heart attacks and burns or smoke inhalation.
Bauermeister grew up in the fire district, fought fires alongside his father, longtime Chief Don Bauermeister, and lived his life serving the community, family said last year.
He also was an emergency medical technician who drove the ambulance in Basin City, a farmer and owned Chet Bauermeister Trucking in Mesa.
* Paula Horton: 509-582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com
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