Firefighters line up during Jacksonville’s Fallen Firefighter Memorial on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. Each helmet carries the name of one of the 28 who have died in the line of duty. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on December 11, 2025 at 2:19 pm
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Brittany Church walked up to the 103-year-old bell hanging next to the names of fallen firefighters at Fire Station 1’s memorial wall and rang it once as the name of her late husband, Engineer Ian Church, was announced.
Then she sat down as Jennifer Woodruff walked up to toll the bell as her late husband, Engineer Jason Woodruff, was named. He too lost his life in the line of duty.
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Hundreds of firefighters joined the families of the 28 firefighters who died in the line of duty and whose names now adorn the wall next to that bell, during Thursday’s annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial Ceremony at Station 1 on North Liberty Street.
Church had served since early 2021, been promoted to engineer in June, then he died in August.
Woodruff, an 11-year veteran, was assigned to Fire Station 19 in Arlington until his death in November 2024. Both died from occupational-related cancer, from chemicals they were exposed to, possibly at fires that gave off carcinogens when they burned up.
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To be among many who had served with her husband, or were there to honor him during Fallen Firefighter Memorial Day, meant a lot to Brittany Church, who said the department has been “like a family” before and after his death. They visited him when he was diagnosed with cancer, brought meals to her, even helped hang Christmas lights, she said.
“Even though it has been over a year since he passed away, I still feel the best thing Ian ever did was join the fire department,” she said after the ceremony. “They have helped me and my kids so much. It means a lot to have this many people out to remember him, Jason Woodruff and all the other fallen firefighters.”
Since Church and Engineer Jason Woodruff both died from job-related cancer, Chief Percy Golden II said it is important to find ways to stop what he called a “silent killer.”
“A lot of firefighters and chiefs are looking at that, and we are putting stuff in place that we have been doing over the years to try to mitigate that,” Golden said. “We are cleaning gear, having two sets of gear and things like that. We are looking at it, and we know its a problem.”
Fallen firefighters honored
The memorial wall replaced one at the old Fire Station 3 museum, which was at a children’s park at the current site of the Four Seasons Hotel. It has since been moved to a site on East Bay Street.
The current wall was dedicated June 29, 1987, next to Station 1, with only 14 names at that time. The 3,000-pound brass bell on the wall once topped an early 20th century City Hall, until Wayne Doolittle, a retired firefighter, found it in 1986 in a city storage room. Doolittle, who helped establish the city’s firefighter museum, died in 2022.
As Thursday’s memorial ceremony began, each of the 28 names of the fallen were shown on helmets held by current firefighters lined up along North Liberty Street. Fire Engineer Keith O’Shea’s name was added last year after he died due to a medical emergency at Station 54 on Philips Highway. At the time, O’Shea’s name was the first added to the wall since 2021.
The ceremony opened with an invocation from Percy Golden, father of the new fire chief. The elder Golden asked all there to grieve people he called “true heroes who gave their lives in the line of duty” to protect the city.
“These firefighters who answered the call to this difficult and dangerous task have shown love and commitment in the highest order for us, and for those, we are so eternally grateful,” Golden said. “We can never do anything to deserve the ultimate gift tat they have given.”
Mayor Donna Deegan told the families to remember “how deeply your city is grateful” for the service done by the firefighters who have died and who still serve.
As fire engine sirens blared Downtown as other firefighters headed to an incident, Golden II said he also appreciated all those who “wrapped their arms around these families” as he stood next to the wall.
“I see 28 lives, 28 families, 28 chairs that went empty at dinner tables across Jacksonville,” The fire chief said. “To the families here today, I want you to know something — we have not forgotten and we will never forget. Your husband still matters to us; your father still matters to us; your son, your brother, your loved one — they still matter to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the city.”
The memorial bell rung as the names of each fallen firefighter was read out, then each helmet was placed on display next to the eternal flame and memorial statue at the fire station. Then friends of the newest names to go on the wall remembered them, beginning with Engineer Josh Davis, who said Church “showed up” wherever he was needed.
“He loved his wife, loved his children more than anything, but he also loved being a firefighter,” Davis said. “It gave him that sense of brotherhood that he had been looking for since he left the Marines.”
Woodruff “looked out for everyone,” said Lt. Scott Abel.
“When Woody was on the scene, his job wasn’t just getting it done — he was checking on other people,” Abel said. “He was making sure that no one was missed and no one was overlooked. That was Woody — he was thorough, caring, and he was relentless in all the right ways.”
A volley of 21 shots from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office honor guard was done, followed by Taps. Then Amazing Grace was performed by the fire department’s Fife and Drum Corps, a lone bagpiper playing it as he walked away from the station.
