Chester Unveils Firefighter Memorial On Main Street

CHESTER, NJ — A new firefighter memorial statue honoring the bravery and service of Chester's volunteer fire department now adorns Main Street.

Following its unveiling at Memorial Park by local firefighters on Saturday, May 28, the bronze statue represents all of the volunteers who have served Chester and the surrounding communities for over 100 years, according to Assistant Chief Daniel Taquinto.

The Chester Volunteer Fire Company had planned to build a firefighter memorial for a long time, but the project never got off the ground for a variety of reasons, according to Taquinto. When ex-chief and life member Ed Norton died of cancer in December 2015, "donations began to come into the company in Ed’s memorial and the decision was made to use the donations to start the firefighter memorial project," Taquinto said.

During the memorial's planning phase, the fire department received assistance from the Larry Macey Memorial committee, which put them in touch with the bronze sculptor they hired, Wayne Hyde.

"We used the Macey Memorial as a blueprint for the firefighter memorial. We met with Wayne and provided him with the gear we utilize for fighting fires and explained to him what we were looking to do. Wayne knocked it out of the park. His sculptor, 'When sends save a life.', captured what we were looking for perfectly," Taquinto said.

The Chester Volunteer Fire Department would like to thank Hoffman Supply, Tim Forrester, Wayne Hyde, Gabriel Pelaggi, Dominic, Kip Crowley, R&R Construction, and Komline Sanders for their contributions to the memorial.

According to Taquinto, the statue does not depict or represent any specific member and is instead dedicated to the Chester Volunteer Fire Company #1's past, present, and future members.