The day that changed everything
Thirty-one years ago on April 19, 1995, at 9:02 in the morning, a bomb tore through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The explosion destroyed the north face of the nine-story structure and triggered a catastrophic progressive collapse that buried hundreds of people beneath concrete and steel. In all, 168 lives were lost and more than 680 others were injured.
The ripple of that morning reached every corner of this country, touching families who lost someone, communities who sent help and first responders who answered without hesitation. Thirty-one years have passed, and still we gather, still we say their names, and we still stand together in the belief that remembering is one of the most important things we can do.
Bartlesville answered the call
When FEMA activated Urban Search and Rescue task forces in the hours following the collapse, eleven members of the Bartlesville Fire Department responded without hesitation. They deployed to Oklahoma City and joined more than 665 rescue workers from across the country, working in dangerous and emotionally devastating conditions to reach those who might still be alive and to recover with dignity those who were not.
The work was physically brutal and emotionally harrowing. The structure remained unstable. The rubble ran deep. And yet these men and women pressed forward, shift after shift, because that is what this profession demands at its highest level and they delivered. They did not wait to be asked twice. They went.
Each of the eleven men listed below gave a significant portion of their career in service to the City of Bartlesville. All have since retired from the Fire Department. But what they did in Oklahoma City in April of 1995 is a chapter of this department’s history that will not fade. They carried a grieving city’s weight alongside their own, and Bartlesville is better for having had them.
In gratitude and remembrance
To the 168 lives lost on April 19, 1995. You are remembered. To the survivors who carried that day forward into lives rebuilt with courage. You are seen. To the families who have marked every April 19 in the years since. You are not alone.
And to these eleven men from Bartlesville, Thank you. Though your years of active service have come to a close, you will always hold a special place in the heart of this city. What you did matters. Who you are matters. Bartlesville is proud to have called you a Bartlesville firefighter.
Information courtesy of Bartlesville Fire Department