Peace officers and members of the armed forces who lose their lives in the line of duty are honored on certain days of the year; now, firefighters might get their own day of remembrance.
Rep. Mike Obermueller (DFL-Eagan) and Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan) sponsor HF422/SF237* that would designate the first Sunday in October as Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day. The bill specifies that Minnesota and U.S. flags on the Capitol grounds must be flown at half-staff on that day.
Obermueller said there is currently a national day to honor fallen firefighters, but that there is some confusion about how it applies to Minnesota. The bill would establish Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day as an official holiday in the state.
“This seems to be a narrow group of people who haven’t been recognized the way we would like them to be,” Obermueller said. The bill awaits action by the full House after being approved March 31 by the House State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee.
The Senate passed the bill 62-0 on March 9.
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