Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast: “Thank you. I also wish to thank Ken Desmond and the Maine State Federation of Firefighters, as well as Jim Howard and the Memorial Committee for their stewardship of this memorial.
Most especially, I want to say how honored I am to be with the family and friends of Andrew Cross, Wayne Woodbury, and all of the fallen heroes we are honoring today. I stand before you to express gratitude from the people of Waldo County and the Maine Legislature for the sacrifices you have made on our behalf. I stand here to mourn their loss with you.
Firefighters commit to serving their neighbors selflessly. I think that is why so many children want to be firefighters. Yes, they are excited by the big trucks, but they also see courageous men and women who run toward the danger to save people.
Firefighters’ commitment takes many forms. It means hours spent training, checking equipment, always being ready, and so much time away from family. It means responding when someone else might be having the worst day of their life.
In our communities, the person answering also might be someone we work with, someone we went to school with, or someone who lives just down the road.
We depend on them. And behind each of them are families who share the demands of that service and understand the worry that comes with it.
Learning about the lives of Andrew and Wayne struck me with how much of their lives was spent doing things for other people.
Andrew was an avid hunter and angler and part of a big, close Maine family. He had recently bought a home and enjoyed filling it with family, friends, food, and laughter. At 27, he was already building a life rooted in the community where he grew up. Andrew used all of his vacation from BIW to train and earn his Firefighter I & II certification. He is survived by his parents, Laurie and Donald Cross; sisters, Whitney and Lindsey; grandmother, Beverly Young; and a loving band of aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Wayne gave more than 60 years to volunteer firefighting in Belmont and Searsmont. He loved fishing and spent winter hours in his workshop making gifts for friends and for charity. His care for people showed up in the things he made, the deep friendships he maintained and his decades of service to the people of Waldo County. His wife of 49 years, Rosie, who died in 2018, was the first dispatcher for the Belmont Fire Department, a service she maintained for 25 years. Wayne is survived by his sister Linda, her children and grandchildren, and countless friends.
These everyday details help us understand the men we are honoring. They remind us how deeply their absence is felt in the ordinary moments of life — around a table, in a workshop, at the diner, or in a quiet conversation with a friend.
Every name honored at this memorial belongs to someone whose family and friends have their own stories like these. Someone whose place in their lives can never be filled.
This is part of why we gather here. We speak their names. We make time to remember their lives. And we tell the people who loved them that Maine mourns with them.
Whether your loss is recent or you have been coming to this service for many years, you have a place here. Our responsibility to remember your loved ones and stand with you continues.
Even as we honor our fallen heroes, we know firefighters across Maine are carrying on their work with the same courage, professionalism, dedication, and duty. I thank you for your service to the people of Maine. I especially thank you for the care and support you have given to the families and departments impacted by the tragic fire in Searsmont.
The people of Maine, the leaders of the fire service, and our elected leaders have a duty to Andrew, Wayne, and all who answered the call to protect their neighbors by serving as firefighters.
We have a duty to honor their service and preserve their legacy.
We have a duty to protect the professionals who serve in both our volunteer and career services.
We have a duty to provide our firefighters with the equipment and training they need.
We have a duty to invest in our firefighters —
… and those of us who serve in elected office must carry that responsibility into the decisions we make.
To the families and friends of all those we honor today: Thank you for allowing us to remember them with you. We know that our gratitude is not enough. Nothing is enough. But I hope that, in the years ahead, the actions we take to support firefighters and their families will offer some measure of comfort and show that our commitment to honoring your loved ones endures.
They answered the call to care for their neighbors. We will honor them by keeping our own commitments to those who continue that service and to the families who stand beside them.”
