The America's Fire Heroes Whistle-Stop Tour was deemed "an overwhelming success" by Chief Ron Siarnicki, executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The cross-country tour concluded earlier this month with an event in Framingham, Mass.

The purpose of the tour was to raise awareness of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. The initiatives, developed by fire service leaders in 2004, are intended to help reduce line-of-duty injures and deaths.

The tour gained national media coverage as it crossed the country. The tour began in San Francisco on April 5 and made 20 official stops in major cities across the country. The tour bus, wrapped with images of firefighters and the names of 3,147 firefighters who died in the line of duty, was designed to honor those who paid the ultimate price and to deliver the message "Everyone Goes Home."

The tour events, attended by thousands of firefighters and the general public, included fire department honor guards, pipe and drum bands, and speeches by the fire service and local dignitaries. The highlight of each stop was the presentation made by the loved ones left behind as a result of firefighter line-of-duty deaths.

"Stop after stop, firefighters remarked that these moving presentations inspired them to think more about their how they do their jobs," said Siarnicki in a press release. "Hearing how the death of a firefighter affected the family gave meaning to the loss that no one in the fire service wants their family to endure."

In conjunction with the tour, a training class was held at each stop. This classroom presentation was designed to change the culture of accepting the loss of firefighters as a normal occurrence. More than 300 firefighters completed this training program during the course of the tour.

The tour was made possible through a grant by the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation and the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program, funded by grants from the Department of Homeland Security and donations from the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.