Mayor Lori Lightfoot Among Others Pays Tribute At The Annual Union Stockyard Fire Memorial

CHICAGO (CBS) – The city is remembering all fallen firefighters today at the annual Stockyard Memorial on Wednesday.

The ceremony was held Wednesday morning at the old entrance to the Union Stockyards near Halsted and Exchange on the far South Side.

The event is named for the 21 firefighters who died battling the Union Stockyards blaze.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was among those who paid tribute.

"This annual gathering has come to mean so much for the families and descendants. By not only keeping their family member's legacies alive but the proud and heroic history of the greatest fire department in the land," Lightfoot said.

Mayor Lightfoot also laid a wreath at the ceremony. The infamous Union Stockyards fire began on Dec. 22, 1910, and raged into the next day.

Investigators found it was caused by a faulty electrical socket.