Seattle's Bravest Charity

Join us for an exciting night of entertainment and fundraising for Seattle's Bravest Charity!

We are saddened to share that Seattle Firefighter Joseph Palombi was involved in a serious vehicle collision earlier this week while on his way to work. Joe is assigned to Fire Station 28 on Ladder 12. He is recovering in the hospital with his family, friends, and fellow firefighters supporting him.

We are accepting donations on behalf of Joe and his family. To donate, clink on the link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8RF9VZAMHE2XY

It has been 29 years since the Mary Pang warehouse arson fire that took the lives of our brothers Greg, Randy, Jim, and Walt. Their names were added to a long list of those who had gone before them -- a list that we have sadly watched grow longer since their names were chiseled into the granite of the memorial erected in the wake of that day. Each of those names represents a loss no less tragic, a life no less noble than these four. All have left a void as permanent as the carefully cut letters it the stone that bears them.

We cannot fail to acknowledge the magnitude of the impact of this singular event in our history. Its significance is eclipsed only by the birth of our organization whose mission we fulfill -- the same mission that brought these four brothers and so many others to that address on that January evening.

The events on that day and those that followed are painful beyond recollection for so many. Yet despite its tragic nature, it has undeniably transformed us for the better. While we can likely catalogue changes that occurred within the department, it can be much harder to quantify the cultural transformation it catalyzed among those of us charged with fulfilling its mission. The shared sense of loss we felt and the selfless acts of courage we witnessed that evening changed the lens through which we viewed our work and those with whom we shared it. It became a constant reminder of the daily work required to be ready and the value of the relationships that sustain us along the way.

The anonymous figures of the memorial, forever frozen in the moment of performing their duty, provide a physical anchor, a manifestation of what we do and why. The list of names is a reminder of our fragility and the fleeting time we are given. Just as those simple stones provide a tangible reminder, a physical place to remind us of those things, let the commemoration of the event that inspired it provide space for us all to remember our solemn bond to our task and each other. Let the sacrifices of our past inspire us to do the daily work to be better in the future.

Written by SBC Board Member Frank Brennan
Retired Lieutenant from Seattle Fire Department
Rescue 1

January 5, 1995 Pang Arson Fire Remembrance by David Churchill

Time Passes Eternal

Twenty-eight years ago, on January 5, 1995, we lost four vital, vibrant, dedicated men to an arson fire.

A whole generation of time has passed in the Seattle Fire Department since then. We have some new firefighters among us who weren’t even born when it happened.

Time plays a diverse role in the scope of tragedy.

Everyone has their own relation to time, and their own relation to a particular tragedy. I can be in the beanery on January 5th with another firefighter who just showed up on probation, and the two of us will have a profoundly different relation to the day, yet we are there together, bound by a common mission. For those of us
who experienced the event ‘at ground zero’, to those expanding out from the center of it, all the way to this day, twenty-eight years later, we are all connected by it’s impact. Just as we are connected by all the losses we have experienced over the years, before and since. All the heart attacks, the losses to cancer and other
diseases, the off-duty accidents, and others. We are connected by a collective caring. That’s why we do this job. We care. That is our mission. To care for others.

The suddenness and horror of the Pang Arson added to the acute pain of the loss. The pain cut deeper still because of the senseless crime of greed that caused it. That makes those losses harder to deal with, harder to heal from, because now a vengeful rage is attached to it, a rage that burns across time, burns along with the
emptiness where our brothers used to be.

“Time heals all wounds.” Does it? I don’t feel it does fully. The pain, the rages, the profound feeling of emptiness diminish, but they don’t fully go away. One learns to cope with these feelings, to find some way of turning them into a positive force.

Whether it be creatively, through a memorial, an Honor Guard, artwork, writing, playing music, educating, giving, or just sharing the story, whatever.

The remembrance, however, is vital to the healing.

If this story is not passed on, shared, there is a greater chance the tragedy will be repeated. It must be acknowledged, shared, passed on. Our brothers must be honored. And our sister. Our dear sister, Michelle Williams, just recently lost to disease, survivor of the Pang Arson.

We lost James Scragg, Lieutenant of Ladder Seven at the time, too soon after the fire. Lt. Scragg and Michelle, teamed with Jim Brown and Gary Overall, made up the crew that day. Scragg, Michelle, and Gary were all burned on their way out of the building after the collapse. Scragg, deepest in the building, and burnt the worst,
somehow managed to spray water on his crew as they left, lessening their injuries. God bless James Scragg. Michelle, I recently learned, lived with the memory of Jim Brown’s hand reaching out and grazing her coat as he fell into the basement. Now she is at peace. Bless you, Michelle, Rest In Peace.

For the lives of Walter Kilgore, Gregory Shoemaker, Randall Terlicker, and James Brown, we remember, we honor. Their memories will live in our memories until we ourselves perish. Despite everyone’s differences in age, place, time, and circumstance, it is up to us to unify in this time of remembrance, and tell their story to the next generation, and so on, for all time, so that the loss of their lives will not be in vain.

David Churchill
Director
Seattle's Bravest Charity

Last day to purchase tickets is September 27th! Get yours today!

http://seattlesbravestcharity.com/?page_id=961

This Sunday, August 28 come on out to watch the Bravest Pickleball Tournament on Mercer Island from 10 AM to 5 PM. There will be a raffle open to everyone and all proceeds to benefit SBC. Thanks to Pure Grit Performance, Kawika Jarman, and Morgan Smith for putting this on and all of the sponsors for supporting SBC.

Fireball V is back after 8 long years. This year it will be held on October 8 at Block 41. Early bird tickets for firefighters are now on sale until July 1. To purchase, go to our website: seattlesbravestcharity.com. Come on out to have some fun and support SBC.

Twenty-seven years have passed since we lost our beloved brothers to the Pang Arson on January 5, 1995. The anniversary day is a day for reflection, for mourning, and for celebration of life.

Reflecting is a way of acknowledging our relationships with those whom we lost. Acknowledging everything we shared while they were alive, what they meant to us, and how we move forward with those shared memories. Remembering brings up many emotions all at once. The feelings can overwhelm us at times. Ultimately, though, the act of remembering is healing. We remember the grief, the emptiness, the despair, but also the good times we had, and through it all, through the years, we emerge better people because of the remembering.

We are better because we live on with pieces of those we lost. We carry with us every moment we ever shared with them. I carry with me hundreds of memories of Greg, Randy, Jim, and Walt. They were the best of us. Part of what keeps me going is the carrying of their spirits with me.

This charity is a celebration of their lives. It is their spirits that inhabit its mission, which is to help and to heal.

Please join me today in remembering them, in mourning them, and, mostly, in celebrating their eternal spirits. Spirits that affirm our caring for each other, and our love for one another.

• Lt. Gregory Shoemaker
• Lt. Walter Kilgore
• FF Randy Terlicker
• FF James Brown

Forever in our hearts.

With love to their families and to our firefighting family,

David Churchill,
Co-founder, and director,
Seattle’s Bravest Charity
January 5, 2022

January 5th marks the 26 anniversary of the Pang Arson Warehouse Fire in which 4 Seattle Fire Fighters were killed:

Lt. Walter Kilgore—Engine 10
Lt. Greg Shoemaker—Engine 13
Fire Fighter James Brown—Ladder 7
Fire Fighter Randy Terlicker—Engine 13

From this tragedy, our organization was born due to the tremendous generosity of the community. Over the last 26 years our organization has tried to embody their spirit and sacrifice by helping our fellow fire fighters, their families, and the Seattle community.

We will never forget them or their families.