The memorial was signed into law in 1996 by Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson . The memorial is funded completely by tax deductible donations and no tax money was used to build the memorial . On October 3 , 2003 , the Wisconsin Legislature designated the week which contains October 8 as Fire Prevention week . The Saturday of that week is designated the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial Day ; the week also commemorates the Peshtigo Fire and Great Chicago Fire from 1871
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial