Arizona community solicits designs for firefighter memorial

PRESCOTT — Artists from around the country are being asked to submit proposals for a memorial to honor the 19 Arizona men who died fighting a wildfire nearly four years ago.

A location near a historic courthouse in Prescott has been set aside for a memorial to the Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed in the June 2013 fire, reported The Daily Courier. Bruce Martinez, chairman of the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Partnership, said a request for proposals was sent to dozens of artists several weeks ago asking for submissions by June 15.

Martinez is a retired Prescott Fire Chief who was asked to help field the calls flooding in with memorial ideas after the 2013 tragedy.

The request includes several suggestions and guidelines, including a community wish-list compiled during the memorial’s public comment period. It also requires the memorial design to be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the Yavapai County Courthouse.

The community suggestions include the story of the fatal wildfire, the names and biographical information of the firefighters who died, and the Hotshots’ motto, Esse Quam Videri — Latin for “To be, rather than to seem.” Other ideas include incorporating bronze or granite elements; the ability to touch, feel or connect with the memorial; and including symbols like a silhouette or Granite Mountain, a historic juniper tree saved by the Hotshots during the fire or wildland firefighter equipment like boots and helmets.

“We wanted a consensus of what the community wanted, and we put that in the RFP,” said Martinez.

Selected semifinalists will be asked to do further design work, like a sitespecific design, a three-dimensional scale model, an implementation schedule and a project narrative.