(Washington, D.C.) - A small piece of La Porte firefighting history is hanging on the wall of a Washington, D.C. Congressional office.
Unveiled this week in the office of 2nd District U.S. Representative Rudy Yakym was a piece of art that blends the American Flag with the state flag of Indiana. It’s made out of fire hoses, one of which came from right here in La Porte.
Griffin Nate, a Yakym spokesperson, described how the project came together. “We got fire hoses from every single county in the district,” he said, “including La Porte County, specifically from the La Porte Fire Department. So we’re able to have a little piece of the people who save lives every single day sitting in the Congressman’s office in D.C.”
Nate says the fire hose flag creation is the work of Brotherhood Designs Corporation in McCordsville, near Indianapolis. Brotherhood Designs was started in 2022 by two firefighters as a way to recycle retired fire hoses. Used material is either given to zoos and animal sanctuaries, or made into flags. Proceeds from their non-profit efforts help provide support for families of fallen first responders. Brotherhood Designs is currently helping raise money for a memorial to volunteer fireman Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the presidential rally in Butler, PA on July 13th, 2024.
In May, after being contacted by Yakym’s office, Brotherhood Designs co-founders Scott Carr and Rob Demlow made a road trip through northern Indiana collecting retired fire hoses from nine fire departments. On Wednesday they hung the finished product in Yakym’s office in Washington, D.C. In a Facebook post describing their experience, they said that Yakym’s reaction was one of “pure emotion and pride.” They said, “The Congressman can now point to each section of hose and share its story—the roots of the flag, and the heroes behind them.”
They also left a digital picture frame depicting the full journey from hose collection to installation. “It includes story documentation, photos, and even the names and contacts of every department involved,” they said, “so Congressman Yakym can reach out and thank the very firefighters this flag represents.”
