The sacrifice paid by fallen Seattle firefighters was remembered in a public ceremony in Occidental Park this morning.
During the Seattle Fire Department ceremony, the names of all 63 Seattle Fire firefighter/EMTs and paramedics who have died from job-related injury or illness were read aloud. The list dates back to 1891.
This year, Seattle Fire paid tribute to Lieutenant/Paramedic Lawrence P. Doll and Firefighter Victor Manhart.
Doll, a 19-year veteran of Seattle Fire, passed away in August 2025. He worked on Engines 11 and 31 before becoming a paramedic in 2012. The new assignment found him working at stations all across the city, including Harborview Medical Center. Prior to his death, Lt./Paramedic Doll was promoted to platoon medical services officer, a leadership role within the department’s renowned Medic One program.
FF Manhart died 121 years ago after being electrocuted at his Beacon Hill fire station after high winds brought the fire alarm wire and city’s electrical wire in contact. According to newspaper accounts, he was adjusting a weight at the door of a wagon stall and touched an exposed ground wire, completing the circuit. A historical research project brought Manhart’s 1905 death to the attention of city and union leaders last year, who agreed to recognize Manhart.
Doll’s family were invited to place on the department’s memorial flag a satin streamer embroidered with Lt./Paramedic Doll’s name and last assignment. A member of the Walter Kilgore Memorial Honor Guard conducted the same honors for FF Manhart.
Manhart and Doll’s names have been inscribed on the memorial’s granite columns as an enduring remembrance of their public service.
City President Joy Hollingsworth, Council Members Maritza Rivera and Dan Strauss, City Attorney Erika Evans, Acting Police Chief Yvonne Underwood and Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt joined the Seattle Fire Department to honor the City’s fallen firefighters and families.
The Seattle Fire Department hosts the memorial on the first Friday of October each year to call attention to the dangers of the firefighting profession as well as the ultimate sacrifice made by firefighters and their families. Members of the community are invited to the ceremony and visit the memorial at any time of the year.
Seattle residents can show their support for firefighters tonight by visiting their neighborhood fire station between 8 and 8:15 p.m. to watch the apparatus flash their red lights. They can also switch out their exterior lighting on their homes with a red bulb.
