UT dedicates plaques honoring fallen Toledo firefighters

4/30/2014

BLADE STAFF

Toledo Fire Chief Luis Santiago, right, presents a plaque honoring deceased Toledo firefighter Jamie Dickman to Lt. George Simko during a University of Toledo Emergency Medicine Wall of Honor dedication ceremony today at the Radisson Hotel on the UT Health Science Campus.

The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Two Toledo firefighters who were killed while fighting an apartment blaze earlier this year received a permanent place of honor at the University of Toledo Health Science Campus today.

During a private ceremony, school officials unveiled plaques of remembrance for Privates Stephen Machcinski, 42, and James Dickman, 31, who died on Jan. 26. A plaque for each firefighter will be added to the school's Emergency Medicine Wall of Honor which is located in the Emergency Department of UTMC, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, near the ambulance entrance.

PHOTO GALLERY: UT dedicates plaques honoring Toledo firemen

Plaques for Toledo firefighters Jamie Dickman and Stephen Machcinski who were killed while fighting a fire earlier this year, were dedicated during the University of Toledo Emergency Medicine Wall of Honor ceremony today.

"In addition to the plaques on the wall of honor, there will also be plaques displayed where our paramedic students are taught," said Paul Rega, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine. "It's a reminder of why they need to learn what they need to learn, who was there before them and whose shoulders they are standing on."

Copies of the plaques were also presented to the families of both firefighters during the event.

The campus facility is where many Toledo-area emergency professionals receive their education and training, Toledo Fire Chief Louis Santiago said.