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Flagpole dedicated for firefighter who died in line of duty

78 views · Published 20 September 2016 · 3:22 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2016 · News & Politics

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HAMILTON, Ohio (WKRC) - It's an arson case which remains unsolved, but Wednesday, the firefighter who died in the line of duty in 2015 was honored with the dedication of a flagpole.

Patrick Wolterman, 29, died fighting a house fire in Hamilton on Dec. 28, 2015. The fire has been declared an arson, but so far there have been no suspects and no arrests.

On Wednesday, Wolterman and all Butler County first responders were honored with the dedication of a flagpole at Fort Hamilton Hospital. Wolterman died after falling through the floor of the house on fire. There were also reports of people trapped inside, but no one was home at the time.

“For firefighters, that’s a game changer, and they’re willing to risk their own lives for complete strangers," said Scott Scrimizzi,  the Hamilton safety director.

The flagpole was dedicated with both an American flag, which will stay at the hospital, and a memorial flag bearing Wolterman's name.

“It took my breath away; we’ve worked on this project [since] Patrick died on December 28, and here it is September 7, so we’ve worked on this project over eight months," Jennifer Mason, the hospital EMS director said.

The memorial flag was given to one of Wolterman's colleagues to fly at the firehouse where he worked.

“It’s constantly there for those of us who were there that night working with him and were on the scene and part of what happened," said Lt. David Oakley. "It never goes away. It’s there in the morning when we wake up; it’s there when we got to bed at night.”

Perhaps most fitting of all was the moment firefighters had to be called away from the dedication to respond to a fire. Many think Wolterman would have approved. 

Wolterman will be honored again Sunday afternoon at the Butler County Firefighters' Memorial in downtown Hamilton where his name will be added to the memorial.

If you have any information which can help catch whomever set the fire where Wolterman died, call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.

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