Crime & Safety
Palatine to Honor Two Fallen Firefighters
Palatine honoring the service and sacrifice of two Firefighters who lost their lives in the line-of-duty on Oct. 1, 1946.
The Palatine Fire Department hosts a memorial ceremony Monday to honor the service and sacrifice of Firefighters Wesley Comfort III and Leonard Nebel who lost their lives in the line-of-duty when their fire engine collided with a passenger train in downtown Palatine on Oct. 1, 1946.
The memorial service will be held at the Palatine Firefighters Memorial near the intersection of N. Brockway and W. Slade Streets in downtown Palatine and is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 1.
During the 20-minute ceremony, members of the Palatine Fire Department will speak, the Palatine Fire Department Honor Guard will present the flags and members of the department will present a memorial wreath.
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It was in the early morning hours of that Palatine received a fire call near Smith Street and Dundee Road.
Volunteer firefighters Leonard Nebel and Wesley Comfort Jr. answered the alarm and sped to the fire. They collided with a train on their way to the scene. Nebel died in the crash and Comfort, the son of the department's chief, died days later from the injuries he sustained.
