History of the Greensboro Fireman's Memorial Statue
The Statue Itself
The memorial stands in Green Hill Cemetery in Greensboro, which opened in 1877 and is the city's oldest public cemetery. The memorial is a 7-foot-tall marble statue of a fireman holding a hose nozzle hooked to a fire hydrant, sitting on a 10-foot granite base.
Unveiled in 1924
The memorial was unveiled on June 8, 1924, to honor the deceased members of the Greensboro Fire Department. That was back when the department was still mostly volunteers — it didn't become fully paid until 1926.
A Resting Place for Firefighters
Eleven Greensboro firefighters are buried in the ground right beside the statue. Over the years the monument came to honor all of the city's firefighters who died in the line of duty.
The Tradition That Faded and Came Back
For decades, the fire department held a memorial ceremony at the statue each year. That tradition quietly ended in 1969, and nobody's quite sure why. Then in 2019, a retired battalion chief named Larry Cockman led the effort to bring it back. About 200 people came — families, firefighters, bagpipers — and the fire chief read aloud the names of 22 fallen firefighters. They've held it every year since.
Restored in 2021
The statue was restored in 2021, so it's looking sharp again after nearly 100 years standing watch.
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