The St. Paul Fire Department is commemorating its fallen firefighters by posting dozens of signs across the city near where they lost their lives.

The first sign was unveiled Friday morning in the 400 block of Wacouta Street in Lowertown next to an old fire station that has been converted into condominiums. The sign commemorates George Wells, who died in 1884 after stepping on a nail at a fire scene and dying two weeks later of lock jaw, and John Zasada.

Zasada fell down the hole around a firefighter pole in 1959 and died.

St. Paul fire Captain Bob Kippels said that the circumstances around the deaths didn't matter as much as the firefighters' commitment to saving lives.

"All these guys came to work willing to risk their lives to save the lives of the residents of St. Paul," Kippels said at the unveiling Friday.

A total of 52 signs commemorating 62 firefighters who died between 1882 and 2009 are expected to be posted in about four weeks. The signs will be posted on buildings, in the ground or on posts.

St. Paul fire Captain Bob Kippels talks about the memorial project while standing next to the first sign.

Kippels said that the project started a little over a year ago when a firefighter suggested memorializing fallen colleagues. (There is a memorial at the state capitol for all of Minnesota's fallen firefighters.)

Kippels and St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said the project is important because it recognizes firefighters who risked their lives for others, and whose deaths sometimes helped spur change in the profession.

"We are who we are today because of them," Zaccard said.

Signs can be sponsored through donations by visiting the St. Paul Fire Honor Guard web site at http://www.stpaulfirehonorguard.org/fund-lodd-markers. The web site also includes an interactive map with information about each death.