Dearly Departed...and the Fort Wayne Fire Department

by Nancy McCammon-Hansen

Dearly Departed is July 15 and ARCH and the History Center hope you all come out to Lindenwood Cemetery for the program which begins at 4:30 p.m. and runs until 7:30 p.m. Lindenwood is one of the more beautiful spots in Fort Wayne and SO full of history.

In a previous post, I mentioned Frederick Hilsman, the first Fort Wayne fire fighter to die in the line of duty. Hilsman was trapped in the basement of the Boltz Grocery and suffocated in smoke from a fire caused by a leaking barrel of "rose oil", a kerosene type mixture.

Here are some photos of his headstone....note the fire fighter's helmet on the top of the stone and the fire fighter on the stone's side.