National Fire Academy to honor Jenks
BURRILLVILLE — The U.S. Fire Service Thursday announced it will honor late Pascoag firefighter Richard A. Jenks during the 38th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service Oct. 6 at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Jenks, 72, died on Feb. 14, 2018, after collapsing at the scene of a residential chimney fire while assisting with ground operations. He is among the 92 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2018 and 27 firefighters who died in previous years who will be remembered at the official national service sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration.
During the ceremony, Jenks’ name will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the Academy grounds.
More than 5,000 people, including families, friends, members of Congress, Administration officials and firefighters are expected to attend the event. Firefighter Honor Guards and Pipe & Drum units from across the U.S. will also participate in the national remembrance.
During the ceremony, the names of the firefighters will be read, and their loved ones will receive an American flag that had been flown above the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and the U.S. Capitol Dome. These firefighters also will be remembered in a special Candlelight Service on Saturday, Oct. 5, where a bronze plaque bearing the names of the fallen will be officially added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial. The events are part of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, where the U.S. Fire Service gathers together to honor the lives of the fallen.
“The permanence of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial is a constant testament to the ultimate sacrifice of our courageous fallen”, said Troy Markel, chairman of the NFFF board of directors. “As we gather together to honor and to pay tribute to our fallen firefighters selfless devotion to service, Memorial Weekend is a time for us as a nation and a fire service to pause and reflect on their sacrifice and to honor and grieve for the loss their families, friends and fellow firefighters continue to endure.”
Jenks was one of several firefighters who arrived on scene for an early morning fire at a single-family log cabin-style home set back in the woods on Hill Road in Pascoag. He collapsed outside the home after tripping and falling inside. Jenks was helped up by his fellow firefighters and brought outside to be checked out by EMTs. CPR was performed on Jenks at the scene before he was taken by ambulance to Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket where he was pronounced dead.
Jenks first joined the ranks of the Pascoag Fire Department in June 1970 at the age of 25 through membership in Pascoag Hose Company #2.