April 30, 2026 3:30 a.m.  

On Wednesday, Douglas County Commissioners Tom Kress, Chris Boice and Tim Freeman issued a proclamation at their weekly business meeting calling upon all citizens of the county to observe “Firefighter Appreciation and Fallen Firefighter Memorial Week”, now through Sunday.

A county release said the commissioners celebrated all the men and women of the county that have chosen to serve others in the firefighting profession. That includes career, volunteer, wildland or structural firefighters, or chief officers, company officers, battalion chiefs, engineers, lieutenants, captains, fire marshals, public information officers and others.

Commissioner Tom Kress said the board wanted to dedicate the day to the memory of fallen firefighters as well. Kress said after researching lists of fallen firefighters from local agencies, as well as from state and national archives, they located the names and respective agencies for 20 fallen firefighters from Douglas County, dating back to 1951.

A copy of the live video presentation can be found on the Douglas County Government Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCountyeGovernment