Former Hightstown Firefighter David C. Lidke to be Honored at Sunday’s National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service

EMMITSBURG, MD — David C. Lidke of Hightstown, New Jersey, will be one of 107 fallen firefighters to be honored at the 2014 National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service on Sunday, October 12.

The service will take place at 10 a.m. at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.and will be available via live stream.

A Fire Police Lieutenant with Hightstown Fire Company No. 1 and also a member of the Mercer County Fire Police, Mr. Lidke died in the line of duty on December 23, 2013 after returning from an emergency call. He was 51. More information about Lt. Lidke is available on the Fallen Firefighter Roll of Honor at http://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/david-c-lidke/

His name will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the Academy grounds. The national tribute is sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration.

 More than 5,000 people, including members of Congress, Administration officials and other dignitaries, members of the fire service, and families and friends of the fallen firefighters are expected to attend.

Families of the fallen heroes will receive memorial flags flown over the U. S. Capitol and the National Memorial. Members of the fire service, honor guard units and pipe and drum units from across the U.S. will participate in this national tribute.

Lt. Lidke was one of two New Jersey firefighters who lost their lives in 2013. Jeffrey Scheurer, 35, a member of the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service and a volunteer firefighter in Readington, died in the line of duty in March of 2013 after being struck by a vehicle while conducting a controlled burn along Highway 629.

The annual tribute for fallen firefighters is sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration.

The event is open to the public. Live streaming information—including satellite coordinates—is available at http://media.firehero.org. The media contact is Tom Olshanski at 202-400-0029 or Thomas.Olshanski@fema.dhs.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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