Your news Memorial garden honors Des Plaines firefighter

Sunday, June 5, was a special day in Des Plaines as resident Eagle Scout candidate Max Jacobs, 16, an Elk Grove High School sophomore, saw his dream to build a memorial to the late Des Plaines Firefighter Robert P. Coombs becomes a reality.

A formal dedication of a rose garden, at Fire Station No. 3, 130 E. Thacker St., honoring Coombs, who died almost 50 years ago while rescuing two unconscious construction workers from a sanitary sewer, marked the culmination of Jacobs’ Eagle Scout project.

Surrounded by city officials, Mark Coombs, the son of the late Robert P. Coombs, relatives, firefighters from Des Plaines, as well as surrounding departments, fellow Scouts and leaders, and many members of the community, Jacobs delivered an address memorializing Robert P. Coombs, who was 33 when his life ended tragically.

Jacobs was inspired to develop the rose garden after researching a small street sign that bears Coombs’ name adjacent to Fire Station No. 3.

The dedication of the Robert P. Coombs Memorial Rose Garden included the unveiling of a statue of a fireman, an Honor Guard presentation and the formal planting of rose bushes by retired firefighters who worked with Robert P. Coombs.

Visit desplaines.org/coombsmemorial to view a photo gallery and video of the Robert P. Coombs Memorial Rose Garden dedication.

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