Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- On Saturday thousands of people will pay special tribute to those who put their lives at risk every day on the job - firefighters.

The annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial is being held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park. It is the second-largest ceremony of its kind in the entire country.

Families from all over the U.S. and Canada will meet in Colorado Springs to remember lost loved ones. Families have already started to arrive, and local firefighters are volunteering their time to make each one feel welcome.

From the time that they arrive to the time they leave, families of fallen firefighters are treated like kings and queens.

“We try to do whatever we can for the families. That’s our goal, whatever they want, we do,” Lt. Mike Smaldino, President of Local 5, Colorado Springs Fire Department, said.

Local firefighters take time out to escort the families around town and make them feel welcome.

“We just don’t want them to hang out in their hotel room the whole time or just stay in the hotel," Smaldino said. "So we show them the town, we go to Old Colorado City, we go to Garden of the Gods, and show them all the sights and the scenery."

Each year thousands gather in the Springs to remember firefighters who died in the line of duty or from an illness caused by their line of work.

“They come in today, Thursday and Friday, and so the week just kind of gets busier and busier as we keep going,” Smaldino said.

This year 136 new names have been added to the wall at Memorial Park, each one representing a brave hero.

“These people go running into burning buildings as everybody else is running out of it,” Adam McDonald, whose father was a firefighter in Winnipeg, Canada for 31 years, said.

McDonald is in town to remember his father who passed away recently from cancer.

“It's going to be a little bit bittersweet with everything that's happened, but I'm looking forward to this weekend,” McDonald said.

Local firefighters said this weekend is a chance to show families support and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

“It's not another funeral for them. They've already gone through that. This is more, like I said, a remembrance for the family and to really just show them that there's other families going through this and that families have been able to recover from passing of loved ones,” Smaldino said.

The memorial service is open to the public.