CONCORD – James Wetherbee Sr. loved sitting in the driver’s seat of Engine 1 and rushing to fires during his 28 years with the Milford Fire Department.

Then in 1995 Deputy Chief Wetherbee fell down the stairs at home responding to a nighttime fire call. He fell hard, taking out the bannister and hurting his head, and in the weeks that followed he suffered increasingly severe headaches until he died after brain surgery on April 30, his 50th birthday.

On the day of the funeral firefighters from all over the Souhegan Valley joined a procession from the First Baptist Church on West Street to Riverside Cemetery, passing under two aerial ladders that formed an arch on the Milford Oval.

But in 2006 when the Fallen Firefighter Memorial was dedicated to the memory of New Hampshire firefighters who lost their lives serving their communities, Wetherbee’s name was not there, not until Sunday, Oct. 9 when he was officially recognized as a firefighter who died in the line of duty.

Gov. John Lynch and the state’s top fire officials presided over a solemn dedication ceremony at the memorial, located on the grounds of the New Hampshire Fire Academy, honoring Wetherbee and five other New Hampshire firefighters whose names were recently inscribed in stone.

“It breaks my heart that it took so long,” said Wetherbee’s son, James Wetherbee Jr., a Milford firefighter who was there with the entire ladder company and other members of his family.

Sixteen years ago firefighters’ deaths were not as carefully documented as they are today, he said.

After the Fallen Firefighter Memorial was established in 2006, Fire Marshall William Degnan sent word out to all fire departments asking for information on possible line-of-duty deaths. Degnan made the final judgement that Wetherbee died serving his community.

Milford fire officials, including retired Chief Richard Tortorelli and current Chief Jack Kelly, gathered the information, said John Raymond, Assistant Director in the state Fire Marshall’s office.

Raymond was not involved in the investigation because he is Wetherbee’s half brother, but he took part in the ceremonies on Sunday along with other members of the family.

Four other names newly added to the memorial were also those of firefighters whose sacrifices were only recently documented, along with the name of Harold Frey of the Sandown Fire Department who suffered a heart attack after a cold water training drill in January.

Wetherbee’s name joins those of two other Milford fallen fighters, Harold Richardson, who died in 1965, and Walter Merrill who died in 1921.

Also on the memorial is the name of Bruce Tarpley, a 39-year-old Amherst firefighter who died of a heart attack while on duty in 1987.

Gov. Lynch declared the second Sunday in October Firefighters Memorial Day and told the audience we owe the fallen firefighters “a debt we can never repay.”

The speakers took turns reading the names of the fallen firefighters out loud as family members laid carnations on the tablets where the names are engraved and set around an old church bell. The Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire Pipes & Drums played Amazing Grace and bells were rung for each firefighter whose name was newly inscribed.

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 21, or kcleveland@cabinet.com.