Press Release   (Scroll down for photos)

Artificial Reef Sculpture to Honor Fallen Firefighter

Boynton Beach, FL - August 24, 2005 -- Sculptors at Stone Grove Memorials are completing a six thousand pound sculpture that will soon become part of an artificial reef commemorating fallen firefighter Peter Firehock. The off duty Delray Beach firefighter was murdered on December 22, 2001 while riding his bike in the woods with his dog Pepper. Pete’s fellow Fire-Rescue workers are coordinating the deployment while coping with the tragic loss of this twenty-three year veteran firefighter. An avid diver, Pete will soon be memorialized with an artificial reef off Palm Beach County.

           Firehock joined Delray Beach Fire-Rescue in 1978. Throughout his career Pete became an integral and vital member of the department. He was instrumental in the development of the Delray Beach Special Operations Team and was the founder of the Fire-Rescue Dive Team. Pete became a Fire Academy instructor and was recognized throughout the state for his expertise in many special operations disciplines.

           The sculpture replicates a life size diver gliding over a reef formation with memorial messages carved into stone panels affixed to the monument. The creation of the memorial was started over two years ago by Stone Grove Memorials in Boynton Beach, Florida. Owner Christopher O’Hare who comes from a family of New York firefighters says he was moved by Pete’s story and contacted the fire department with his idea of creating and donating the monument. Stone Grove Memorials typically creates small cremation urns called “Personal Monuments” that weigh about 15 pounds each. This time O’Hare directed his sculptors to create a memorial over 400 times larger. “Our sculptors have spent years carving memorial art for cremation families. The Stone Grove collection includes over one thousand sculpted images all less than eight inches across. Pete’s memorial was a challenge that we met with respect and enthusiasm,” says O’Hare.

           On Friday September 2, 2005, the monument will make the trip from Palm Beach Inlet to a pre-selected location adjacent to the existing Governor’s River Walk Reef. There it will be submerged in the ocean to a depth of nearly ninety feet. The statue is designed to resist the Gulfstream current and the shape and complexity of its interior chambers will provide habitat for marine life. 

          The barge carrying the monument is scheduled to depart its dock at 7:00 AM on Thursday morning. About 100 passengers will participate in a short memorial ceremony on the barge just prior to deployment. Firefighters throughout Florida are expected to attend. Many will come prepare to dive and plan to form an informal underwater Honor Guard to accompany the monument down to its final resting place on the reef.

 Stone Grove Memorials is a leading provider of personal memorials for the cremation consumer in North America. The company designs, manufactures and distributes “Personal Monuments” which are made available through funeral homes in the United States and Canada. Stone Grove Memorials has created the world’s largest collection of sculpted memorial images. Customers can select from over 1000 designs to create a memorial as unique as the person it honors. Custom cremation memorials are made one at a time and can be delivered to the funeral home the next day.

Stone Grove Memorials, Personal Monuments and Every Life Deserves to be Remembered are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Stone Grove Memorials. All sculpted and printed images are visual arts copyright protected property of Stone Grove Memorials.

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