«The life of a firefighter is worth eternity. From today, the name of Antonino Candido will be forever engraved in the history of our city.” With these words, Mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà spoke at the naming ceremony of the section of Viale Europa – overlooking the Fire Brigade barracks – after the young man from Reggio who died in the explosion of a farmhouse in Quargnento, in the province of Alessandria, on a tragic day six years ago. In greeting the Candido family, the provincial commander of the Fire Brigade Antonino Casella, the deputy mayor Domenico Battaglia and the city councilors present Filippo Quartuccio, Giuseppe Sera and Santo Bongani, Giuseppe Falcomatà spoke «of the example left by Antonino Candido which becomes the collective heritage of our community».
«A city – said the mayor – is not made up only of its walls and material things. A city becomes a community if it manages to honor the memory of its best children and make them become a warning and a source of inspiration. This is the meaning of today.” Citing the Latin brocard “flammas domamus corda donamus” (Let’s tame the flames and give the hearts), the mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà underlined how Antonino Candido «has borne witness with his life to what is the motto of the Fire Brigade».
“He did it – he explained – as a servant of the State, as a citizen of Reggio, as a son because we, in turn, follow the example of our fathers”. «Antonino, a few weeks before his death – the mayor recalled – wondered what the value of the life of a firefighter was. He did so following another dramatic event that had affected one of his colleagues. So, how much is a man’s life worth? How much that of a firefighter? You could answer a lot or a little. Today we answer: eternity is worth it.”
«Because – concluded Falcomatà – when, in many years, we will no longer be here, there will always be someone who, in our place, when Nino is remembered, will respond by being present. From today, in fact, his name is no longer engraved only in our hearts, it is no longer written in the sand which then, little by little, somehow fades. Nino’s name is forever engraved in the history of our city.”