North Carolina Board of Transportation reverses itself. Asheville bridge now expected to be named for Capt. Jeff Bowen.

Click here to follow STATter911.com on Facebook (hit “like”)

The Loss of Captain Bowen by Firefighter Jay Bettencourt, Part 1 & Part 2

Previous coverage of this story here, here, here & here

Congratulations to the Asheville Firefighters Association, the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association and the 7700 people who supported the petition drive to change the minds of the North Carolina Board of Transportation about renaming the Smoky Park Bridge after Captain Jeff Bowen who died during a medical office building fire last July. A committee voted unanimously yesterday to move forward with the new name and the full board is expected to vote this morning.

The same group is also going to reconsider the long-standing practice that generally excluded firefighters, but allowed state bridges to be named after fallen law officers. The committees chairman says they are supporting the will of the people.

Here’s an excerpt from an article by Mark Barrett in the Asheville Citizen-Times:

The Naming Committee turned the idea down March 7, citing a practice by which DOT typically does not name roads or bridges for firefighters or other emergency workers who die in the line of duty, asking instead that local governments rename one of their structures.

DOT does regularly name bridges after state troopers killed on the job and other law enforcement officers have been so honored.

A Citizen-Times review of state records found that the names of two firefighters who did not die on the job adorn bridges in Western North Carolina and that elected officials make up the largest single category of honorees.

Do you want to sell a rig? Click HERE to find out how with SellFireTrucks.com.