By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
More than 100 people turned out Saturday morning for the dedication of the Salina Fire Department’s tribute plaza, including the unveiling of the statue at the heart of the plaza. They weren’t disappointed!
People crowded around the northwest corner of Seventh and Elm, where the plaza is located at Station No. 1. The plaza is a tribute to current and past Salina firefighters and all they have done/do for Salinans and Saline County residents.
The Salina Fire Department Honor Guard raised the United States flag and Robert Levis, Salina Fire Department Chaplain, offered a prayer.
Salina Fire Chief Kevin Royse welcomed the crowd and talked about the history of the plaza project. He noted that both business and individual donations made the project possible. He also introduced Benjamin Victor, the artist who created the life-sized bronze firefighter statue that now kneels on the pedestal in the center of the plaza.
Victor is an artist-in-residence and professor at Boise State University. If Victor’s name seems familiar, it might be because in 2015, Sculpture Tour Salina voters selected Victor’s “Daughters of Peace” as the people’s choice winner.
Victor was selected for the tribute plaza project because organizers believed his attention to detail and use of colorization would enable him to capture the true spirit of a Salina firefighter.
Indeed, Salina Fire Captain Josh Foley, who chaired the tribute plaza committee, pointed out a number of features of the statue that were as they would be on a Salina firefighter in full gear.
Foley noted that while some of the Salina firefighters were speculating which one of them the statue was modeled after, it was, in fact, a compilation of a number of firefighters. To emphasize that the statue was a representation of all Salina firefighters, the statue is wearing a firefighter’s mask so that no one firefighter’s facial features are visible, Foley said.
Foley also said it was important to the committee that the statue be aiming its firehose away from the firehouse in a symbolic gesture of firefighters protecting the city they serve. Additionally, engraved bricks honoring former and current firefighters, as well as those who donated to the project, surround the pedestal.
At the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, those present were invited into Station No. 1 to sign the guest book and enjoy light refreshments.
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”13″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”fade” cycle_interval=”4″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show thumbnails]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]