SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A memorial service was held in Monroe County Saturday, marking 50 years since an explosion that killed six people, including three firefighters.
On June 26, 1964, the Marshalls Creek Volunteer Fire Department was called to a tractor trailer fire on Route 209 where the truck exploded shortly after they got on scene.
The ceremony was held near the new memorial being built at the fire house in Monroe County.
A U. S. flagpole sits there with the fire company's emblem on it, bearing the words, "In memory of all who served. "
A three-section granite wall will also be part of the memorial. The firefighters' names will be in the wall's center section while "the firefighters' prayer" and a brief history of the explosion will go on the other two sections.
The memorial is expected to be completed by next spring in Monroe County.