The photograph of a fallen hero stares out onto Central Street, and the flames of a two-decade-old Evanston fire are caught in time. The images are part of a public art project detailing the work of Evanston firefighters, unveiled in December at Evanston Fire Station 3.

The eight enlarged photographs were digitized and sandblasted onto weather-protected aluminum panels that wrap around the corner of the fire station at 1105 Central St. The artists, husband and wife team Patrick McGee and Adelheid Mers, were commissioned by the city to create the artwork as part of the Evanston Public Art Ordinance. The ordinance calls for 1 percent of the construction cost of new public buildings to be reserved for public art.

The artists held three meetings with the firefighters, during which 25 photos were selected from shoeboxes, wall hangings in Evanston’s fire headquarters and old historical photographs from a retired firefighter’s scrapbooks. McGee and Mers also submitted arrangement ideas and got input from the firefighters on design and color schemes.

“The building itself benefits the community, and it’s nice that it can now serve the public in another way,” McGee said.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 12 brought the artists, the firefighters, Evanston Mayor Lorraine H. Morton and several other public figures together to commemorate the art and the sacrifices of those portrayed in it.

“The ceremony had a festive feel to it,” said McGee, who worked on the project for more than a year. “We were definitely breaking new ground there.”

Firefighter paramedic Ron Shulga worked with the artists throughout the process and said he had mixed feelings about the final product.

“I would have liked it to have more of a synchronized type of progression, a step-by-step historical view of the panels,” Shulga said. “But it still tells a story, and the people who see it will appreciate its uniqueness.”

Shulga and many of the firefighters said they wished the pictures were clearer and easier to identify.

“We started out with smaller pixels and more detail but decided we wanted people to see the pictures from a car or the other side of the street or even the El platform,” artist McGee said. “The photos can reveal themselves instead of being in your face like billboard advertising.”

Although the final photograph choices were left up to McGee and Mers, the firefighters specifically requested that the three Evanston firefighters who lost their lives in service be included. The final photographs include pictures of these three men, action shots from a fire scene, a historical photo of the original Evanston fire station and several photos of the men and equipment on the job.

Fire captain Dennis McGuigan has a personal connection to the artwork. McGuigan was hired alongside Marty Leoni, who lost his life at a fire on Jackson Street in 1985. It was the third tragic death in the Evanston fire service, following two deaths in 1905.

“There’s no greater honor than to have their pictures on the side of our fire house,” said McGuigan. “But the general consensus at the fire station is that the pictures should be clearer, especially so that the faces of heroes can be recognized.”

But the firefighters seem satisfied with the less traditional approach instead of the generic bronze statues seen at other area stations.

“With a little more firefighter input, this is a better reflection of our jobs and what our lives are like,” Shulga said.

Reach Katie Euphrat at [email protected].