National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend honors 3 local firefighters

Saturday will mark the first day of the 43rd annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend and three Northeast Ohio firefighters will be honored at the event.

The event will take place in Emmitsburg, Maryland and will pay tribute to 89 firefighters who died in the line of duty last year and 137 who died in years prior. Seventeen firefighters being honored this year are from Ohio, with three being from our area.

You can watch the event in player below:

The local firefighters are Seamus Culligan from the Willoughby Fire Department, Brett Wilson of the Columbia Township Fire Department and James Tansey of the Wakeman Fire District.

CULLIGAN
Culligan, 44, died on Feb. 15, 2022, from brain cancer, which was deemed a line-of-duty death. He served the Willoughby Fire Department from 2002 until 2017. He also served on the Lake County Hazardous Intervention Team. In 2001, he was at Ground Zero to help after 9/11.

CLICK HERE to read more about Culligan on the Roll of Honor.

In 2017, more than 1,400 people packed into Downtown Willoughby to show their support for Culligan.

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WILSON
Wilson, 23, died on Oct. 27, 2019. Wilson heard a car crash outside of his home on Sprague Road and went outside to help but died when a loose electrical line fell.

CLICK HERE to read more about Wilson on the Roll of Honor.

Two years after his death, Lorain County officials honored Wilson at a memorial for its fallen firefighters and police officers.

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TANSEY

Tansey, 72, died on Jan. 21, 2021, due to complications from COVID-19. Tansey joined Wakeman's volunteer fire department in 1974 and served as a firefighter, captain and chief there until his death.

CLICK HERE to read about Tansey on the Roll of Honor.

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