Please join Portland Fire & Rescue and the David Campbell Memorial Association on Monday June 26 at 10 AM for the Annual David Campbell Memorial Service held at Portland Firefighters Park located at West Burnside Street at SW 19th Avenue.
David Campbell was an influential and progressive Portland Fire Chief who began serving the City of Portland in the late nineteenth century. Chief Campbell lost his life on June 26, 1911 saving the lives of other firefighters on scene of the Union Oil Fire, located at E. Salmon and Water Street. At this fire, Chief Campbell–recognizing that despite firefighters’ best efforts, the fire was out of control–borrowed the protective turnout coat of a firefighter on scene and entered the structure, ordering all those on the interior of the building to exit immediately. A large explosion occurred as the firefighters were exiting and the last view some firefighters had of Chief Campbell was of his silhouette with his arms raised to protect himself from the crumbling building.
Although David Campbell was lost in a fire 112 years ago, his lasting impacts on the Portland Fire Bureau remain evident today. Each year on the anniversary of his untimely death, the David Campbell Memorial Association honors David Campbell and the 75 other Portland Firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty by a reading of their names and a tolling of the ceremonial bell at Portland Firefighters Park.
In addition to honoring the Portland Firefighters that we have lost, there is the presentation of the David R. Kingsley Award to current members of Portland Fire & Rescue who went above and beyond the call of duty in serving the City of Portland. US Air Force Second Lieutenant David R. Kingsley, a former Portland Firefighter, was serving as a bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress that sustained severe damage while operating in the European Theatre of WWII in June of 1944. Knowing that the B-17 was going to crash, Kingsley selflessly gave his parachute to an injured comrade whose parachute had been damaged by shrapnel. This crewmate, along with the rest of the B-17 crew, was able to jump from the plane and safely float to the ground, while Kingsley took the controls of the doomed aircraft until it crashed, killing the bombardier. In recognition of his heroic actions, Kingsley was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945. The recipients of the 2023 David R. Kingsley Award are FF Chris Singleton and FF Josh Clemmer for their extraordinary efforts to rescue an individual who was trapped in a submerged vehicle at the Willamette Park Boat Ramp.
