Sculptures

The new headquarters building for the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund was designed to represent the fire service in a number of ways. To begin with, the building motif melds an office structure with a fire station appearance, arch and large front door. The entrance is next to a large atrium which houses a small fire truck and will be decorated with various firefighter "stuff" to let folks know they are in a fire service facility. And, finally, we provided a small, concrete pad for a firefighter sculpture and flagpole in front of the building to greet visitors as they approach.

In the May 2008 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board commissioned Hanlon Studios of Toms River, New Jersey, to sculpt and cast three life-sized figures of active firefighters, honoring all of the firefighters of Georgia. Hanlon Sculpture Studios was selected based primarily on the quality of their work and the price offered to complete the project. Hanlon Sculpture Studios specializes in religious and public safety sculpting. They also do some sports related work such as the Bob Cousy Memorial. Samples of their work may be found on www.hanlonsculpture.com. The embedded links below contain photos of the project as it progressed to completion.

Brian Hanlon, the principal sculptor, prepared preliminary clay models for the Board's review.

From the clay models, Brian then prepared molds of fiberglass and rubber, which were then sent to a foundry in Denver for casting, using a "lost wax" process. The figures were sectioned for casting, then reassembled at the foundry for finishing and shipping back to the studio where a final patina coating was applied.

A base of beautiful gray Georgia granite was carved and engraved by Star Granite Co. in Elberton, Georgia. The base was set several days ahead of the bronze installation.

Finally, the bronzes arrived and were installed by FAS Monumental Erectors, also of Elberton, Georgia.