Memorial park honors fallen firefighter Trevor Brown

STERLING, Va. (DC News Now) — A new memorial park stands on the spot where a volunteer firefighter lost his life more than a year ago in a catastrophic home explopsion in Sterling.

The park honors Trevor Brown at the corner of Silver Ridge Drive and Seneca Ridge Drive.

“Those big white flowers, they’re really pretty,” said little Nina Johnson as she got her first look at the park with a family friend, Len Jenkins.

“I thought it was beautiful,” Jenkins said.

Brown died in the Feb. 16, 2024, house explosion that took place on the site.

Shortly before 7:40 p.m. that night, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue was called to the home after receiving reports about the smell of gas. When members of the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company arrived, they found a 500-gallon propane tank with a leak on the side of the home.

A short time later, a “catastrophic explosion” killed Brown — one of the firefighters part of the volunteer fire company’s crew — and injured nearly a dozen others.

The memorial park opened Saturday morning on what would have been his 47th birthday. There are paths for people to walk, and benches where they can sit and reflect on what happened.

A plaque with the firefighter’s information sits on a rock, marking the spot where Brown lost his life.

“I think it’s an amazing example of how a community can come together when something bad happens and turn it into something good,” Jenkins said.

Volunteers raised the $30,000 needed to get the park built by K&H Landscaping and Ground Maintenance.

“We needed to build something for Trevor that would be here forever. And this will be here forever,” said owner Kris Hjort.

While neighbors support the park, one Sterling firefighter said he’d rather see a new house built on the property, as the park serves as a daily reminder of the life lost on the site.

Loudon County jurors convicted former propane tank technician Roger Bentley on the Monday before the park’s opening ceremony. He was found guilty on charges related to the explosion, including involuntary manslaughter.

Bentley could spend up to ten years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 6.