Rebuilt Hill District church honors firefighters killed in '04 blaze
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Bob Donaldson, Post-GazetteStephanie Stefanakis, widow of firefighter Richard Stefanakis, and her granddaughter, Cailyn Stefanakis, embrace as Jamie Brace, right, widow of Charles C. Brace, wipes away a tear after they placed their husbands' helmets in the memorial in the rebuilt Ebenezer Baptist Church yesterday after a celebration of the men's lives. The firefighters died when the bell tower collapsed during a 2004 fire that destroyed the Hill District church.
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More than 300 Pittsburghers, including firefighters, police officers, paramedics and public officials, yesterday paid homage to two firefighters at the dedication of a memorial to the two men killed in a 2004 fire that destroyed Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Hill District.
The Ebenezer Baptist choir set the mood for the memorial service with a booming 10-minute rendition of the majestic hymn, "Lift Up Your Heads," following a procession of bagpipers and a public safety honor guard.
The purpose of yesterday's service was to dedicate a memorial to firefighters Charles G. Brace and Richard Stefanakis, a "place of reflection and promise" in the words of church member Emily Davis. Ms. Davis was one of two members of Ebenezer Baptist selected by the Rev. J.V. Alfred Winsett to prepare remarks for the service.
The church at Wylie Avenue and Devillers Street was rebuilt after the March 13, 2004, fire and was officially rededicated two weeks ago.
Ms. Davis told the crowd that the deceased firefighters are now part of the church.
"We will ever share a bond that will never be broken," she said.
Mr. Brace, a battalion chief, and Mr. Stefanakis, a master firefighter, died among debris after Ebenezer's bell tower collapsed while firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed the church. Twenty-eight other firefighters were injured.
The ceremony included the reading and presentation of proclamations from Gov. Ed Rendell to the wives of Mr. Brace and Mr. Stefanakis, as well as comments from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and city Councilwomen Tonya Payne and Darlene Harris.
Several speakers addressed the fickle nature of public safety work that masks the danger inherent in the job.
"We recognize that every day could be our last ... but we do what we do because we love it and take it in stride," said city police Cmdr. Cheryl Doubt, who is in charge of the No. 2 police station a few blocks from the church.
Jamie Brace, Mr. Brace's wife, said her husband and Mr. Stefanakis were humble men who would not have liked the attention of the ceremony or being called heroes.
"I doubt that either Charlie or Rick would want to be considered a hero," Mrs. Brace said. "Charlie was a hero to me, though."
Mr. Stefanakis' wife, Stephanie, came in late to the service and was visibly shaken throughout the ceremony as she held her granddaughter, Cailyn, close and they took turns laying their heads on each other's shoulders.
Two days before the service, an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge convicted a Mount Washington man of involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 15, 2005, shooting death of Mrs. Stefanakis' son, Chad. The Stefanakis family expected a more serious charge and expressed disappointment after the verdict by Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski against Lawrence J. Harvey, 24.
Mrs. Stefanakis cried throughout an emotional tribute to the firefighters written and presented by Ebenezer Baptist member Denise Lamar. Ms. Lamar told the crowd Mr. Brace and Mr. Stefanakis were greeted by God after their deaths in the fire.
"He softly and gently whispered these seven words into their hearts, 'Well done, my good and faithful servants,' " she said.
As the choir and the churchgoers sang "Amazing Grace," the widows were led to a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the memorial to their husbands on the first floor. The helmets of Mr. Brace and Mr. Stefanakis were placed on pedestals in the 8-foot-by-8-foot memorial next to photographs of Mr. Brace and Mr. Stefanakis with his late son.
The memorial also contains a black shroud draped over escalating pedestals, two pairs of firefighters' boots and a concrete bench topped with a bronze plaque with the names of all 30 firefighters injured in the Ebenezer church fire.
Ms. Lamar, who watched from across the street as her church was destroyed in the March 2004 fire, said after the service that Ebenezer has come "full circle" with the rebuilt church and the dedication of the firefighters memorial.
"That was a day of incredible sadness and, even though that day lingers on, this is a day of rebirth," she said.
First Published December 4, 2006 12:00 am
