Firefighters convention descends on St. Charles
This weekend, St. Charles is a firefighter's town.
Hundreds of firefighters from across the globe, including New York veterans who spent time at ground zero, are gathering at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., for the inaugural Gear Up Foundation International Convention.
The charitable event includes displays and demonstrations of the latest and most high-tech fire-fighting tools, a memorial to Sept. 11 victims, family activities and presentations from some of the world's best-known firefighters.
It all gets started at 10 a.m. today and continues until 5 p.m. Sunday.
A $10 donation is suggested for admission. Proceeds go to the Gear Up Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to honor Sept. 11 victims by providing training and equipment to fire departments in the United States and abroad.
"We've come a long way from an organization that started just delivering by hand what we could carry to these countries -- jackets, hats, boots -- to delivering whole fire trucks filled with equipment," said Vincent Forras, a former volunteer firefighter who started Gear Up with his wife, Monica Carrera, after his experiences at ground zero. "It's pretty amazing."
Forras is among those on hand this weekend talking to the public and training firefighters from countries such as Peru, Ecuador and France.
He's joined by former New York Fire Department commissioner Thomas VonEssen and Assistant Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff, whose life helped inspire the 1991 film "Backdraft," among others from across the suburbs and state.
"This is the public's chance to meet the most famous firefighters in the world," said event organizer Joe Cantafio of Barrington.
Another attraction is a "World Memorial" display dedicated to Sept . 11. Loaded on a tractor-trailer truck bed, the memorial lists the names of the terrorist attack victims and, in some cases, their position in a police or fire department. It also includes images of 9/11 and tributes to the fallen.
The memorial resonates with practically everyone who views it, Cantafio said.
"You see their names, and it just gets you," he said. "It chokes you up every time -- doesn't matter if it's been six years."
Also at the convention, there will be a smokehouse for children to tour and fire investigation dog Wheeler of Schaumburg.
Organizers are hoping for a good crowd, although they expect the audience to grow as the event returns year after year and Gear Up reaches more people with its message.
"Everyone who sees the mission, once they understand what we are, they are touched by it and want to be a part of it," Forras said.
"What we do is out of our hearts with love to bring the world together. It's the ultimate tribute to the failure of the terrorists who tried to divide the world and intimidate us, and here we are bringing the world closer together."
Gear Up
What: Inaugural Gear Up Foundation International Convention
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Mega Center at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles
Admission: $10 donation suggested
More information: www.gearupfoundation.org