Press release from City of Hendersonville:
“Heroism and Sacrifice” is the aptly named sculpture in Raleigh, North Carolina that honors all of North Carolina’s fallen firefighters. The name of Floyd A. Jackson, Jr. adorns the memorial as the City of Hendersonville’s only firefighter to have lost his life in the line of duty. November 26th marks the sixty-eighth anniversary of Firefighter Floyd A. Jackson, Jr.’s death.
“We continue to live on through the legacy of Firefighter Jackson,” said Chief Joseph Vindigni of the Hendersonville Fire Department. “We will always remember the sacrifice he made for the citizens of Hendersonville and surrounding communities.”
On Sunday, November 26, 1950, Firefighter Floyd A. Jackson, Jr. answered his final call responding to a basement fire that had broken out below the Brunswick Lunch and Billiards at 241 North Main Street. At approximately 6:15am, Firefighter Jackson, age 31, fell through a weak area in the floor as he was working at the scene. Shortly after falling into the basement, a pool table slid through the opening in the floor, landing on Jackson and killing him. Firefighter Jackson was laid to rest on December 3, 1950 at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville.
In addition to Floyd Jackson’s name appearing at the state memorial in Raleigh, his name can be found on the Hendersonville Fire Department Station 1 Dedication Statue and the Henderson County Fire and Rescue Memorial located at 851 N. Main Street.
- Photos courtesy of City of Hendersonville
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