First responders memorialized in front of Fresno City Hall

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The city of Fresno unveiled a first responders memorial honoring local police officers and firefighters who lost their lives serving others Wednesday morning. It's a project five years in the making.

The new memorial includes the 30 names of Fresno police officers and firefighters. They were given the ultimate honor with bagpipes and a helicopter flyover included.

The front of city hall in Fresno now includes a new memorial honoring local first responders who died in the line of duty, since the early 1900s. It's located directly across from the veteran's memorial installation.

"It really puts an exclamation point on the value that the city places on our public safety officials. It couldn't be a more perfect bookend to that veteran's memorial across the way," explained Chief Kerri Donis with the Fresno Fire Department.

The names of 17 Fresno police officers and 13 Fresno firefighters are now forever engraved in the heart of the city.

Local leaders, fellow first responders, and family members gathered for this ceremony before the unveiling Wednesday.

The widow of retired fire captain Oney Durney was at a loss for words as she took in the beautiful dedication that includes her beloved husband. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer.

"He was my husband, my partner, my everything, and it seems like every day I miss him more and more," said Dolores Durney.

The installation includes solid granite stone that had to be brought in in five separate pieces, with some weighing over 3,000 pounds.

"It also features a bronze police cap and a bronze fire helmet with the actual insignia for Fresno PD and the fire department," explained Patricia Bell, Co-owner of Bell Memorials and Granite Works

The attention to detail did not go unnoticed by loved ones who are thankful to have their heroes memorialized at home.

"It's amazing and it's great for the public to have this memorial in Fresno because we'd have to drive to Sacramento or in Colorado to see their names," added Durney.

And when asked what Fire Captain Durney would have thought of the memorial and the ceremony...

"He would be working overtime so they could be here, and he would say he didn't deserve it," added Durney.

The memorial was chosen out of four designs. The final decision on the memorial included input from police and firefighters, and the heartfelt reaction from families who lost heroes was priceless.