Told no because he's not a cop Asheville firefighters push ahead to have bridge named after fire Captain Jeff Bowen. Online petition growing.

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The Loss of Captain Bowen by Firefighter Jay Bettencourt, Part 1 & Part 2

Previous coverage of this fire here, here & here

Online petition to rename Smoky Park Bridge for Capt. Jeff Bowen

The Asheville Fire Fighters Association in North Carolina is leading the way to change state policy on naming bridges after being turned down about naming one after Capt. Jeff Bowen. Capt. Bowen died last July during a fire in a medical office building. An online petition to rename the Smoky Park Bridge was started on Sunday and more than 6500 names are on it.

Here’s the latest from Mark Barrett at Citizen-Times.com:

Board of Transportation policy has been to name bridges or roads after law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty or after people from all walks of life deemed to have made a significant contribution to the state.

The board has generally not extended the honor to firefighters for fear that it would have too many requests to deal with.

“I think it’s a pretty weak reason, and I think it shows disrespect for firefighters,” said Mike Marshall, president of the association.

State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who is also state fire marshal, also weighed in on the issue Friday, expressing his “disappointment and dismay” about the decision in a letter to the chair of the Board of Transportation committee in charge of naming questions.

“I strongly believe that firefighters are deserving of our highest respect, as they are among our public servants who intentionally put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others,” wrote Goodwin, who first raised the idea of naming a road or bridge for Bowen last year.

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