PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The city of Portland has broken ground on a Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial to honor 20 firefighters who’ve lost their lives in the line of duty.

For more than a decade, Portland firefighters worked to gather community and financial support. On Friday, the fire department, Portland Firefighters Local 740 and city officials formally broke ground at the site next to the Central Fire Station on Congress Street.

The memorial will feature a brick walkway, two engraved benches and a black marble monument at the site of four firehouses, the oldest dating back 200 years. Names on the memorial will date to 1903, when Thomas Burnham lost his life after being burned in a fire at Sturdivant’s Wharf.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.