Stolen firefighters memorial plaques still missing

Four bronze plaques bearing the names of fallen Edmonton firefighter remain missing weeks after they were stolen from the Firefighters Memorial Plaza in Old Strathcona.

On July 24, it was discovered the plaques were taken from the bell tower memorializing fallen firefighters at 10322 83 Ave.

Noel Bugnet, chairman of the Edmonton Firefighters Memorial Society, said Monday they have received no information on the location of the missing plaques.

“We've got several agencies looking but, in talking with people who are in the know, the assumption is that the people who stole them realized that they couldn't get rid of them and just threw them in a dumpster,” Bugnet said.

The assumption is that the people who stole them realized that they couldn't get rid of them.

“Unfortunately, at this point, we're not really holding out hope. We're just going to move forward and look at a full replacement.”

The memorial will look even emptier in the coming weeks, Bugnet said.

“We're actually pulling the remainder of the plaques off the bell tower today just to prevent any further theft, and we're working with Behrends Bronze right now and we're getting everything recast in a bigger format and much more secure,” Bugnet said.

While the recast will be more secure, it will also take longer to fabricate, Bugnet said, meaning the memorial will remain empty for the Sept. 11 ceremony that honours fallen members of the Edmonton Fire Rescue Service and the 343 firefighters killed during the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.

At the time the plaques were stolen, Bugnet said it would cost thousands of dollars to replace.

It's not the first time the memorial has been vandalized. In 2015, The Rescue statue was found defaced with a marker and a chokecherry tree was cut down beside it.