(ABC 6 News) – On Sunday, the Rochester Fire Department hosted its 20th annual ceremony honoring the Christmas Eve tragedy of 1953.

This year, not only marks a special anniversary for the event but is also a difficult time for the family of one of the firefighters that perished on that frigid day 70 years ago.

Stan O’Brien and Ambrose Riley, gave their lives to save a child who slipped through the ice. While none of the three survived the freezing temperatures of the lake, for the family of Riley, his legacy still weighs heavily on his family and the lives they live today.

The sound of a bell was the call to action for firefighters in 1953.

When it rang around 12:55 p.m. on Christmas Eve 1953, RFD firefighters quickly jumped into action. However, the attempts by RFD to save nine-year-old John Paul Stephenson’s life on Silver Lake failed, and RFD lost two of their own along with Stephenson.

While the actions came with the ultimate sacrifice from a first responder, one of Riley’s granddaughters, Anne Marie Dominguez, recognizes the selflessness her grandfather acted with that day.

“It’s a call to us to act with the same spirit and sense of sacrifice for another human being,” Dominguez said. “Although this was heroic, he was even a World War II veteran, and a POW in Germany. His spirit and heroism is unimaginable.”

Dominguez and her son Ambrose Pauly never met their grand and great-grandfather Riley because of his mission to save a child. But Riley’s actions that day and during the war inspired Dominguez to name her son after her hero.

“When this was first dedicated I was pregnant with A.J. (Pauly’s nickname) For a very long time we knew he was going to be named after this wonderful man,” said Dominguez.

And carrying on his great-grandfather’s namesake means everything to Pauly. “It gives me more reason to just get up and do anything. It’s beautiful, it’s inspiring, you have a model to look up to,” he said.

Fortunately for Pauly and Dominguez, the legacy of Riley’s sacrifice is not only enshrined at Silver Lake Park. It’s also kept alive with that same fire truck the two heroes arrived in that fateful morning 70 years ago. Rochester Fire Chief Eric Kerska has held onto and refurnished the truck for the last 20 years.

“This is the truck they brought here Christmas Eve ’53. And those wooden ladders are what they used 70 years ago,” said Kerska. “It’s special to me to keep the history alive. It was easy to get but the breaks were broken, but we got them fixed.”

With the memory and legacy of his great-grandfather kept alive and present, Pauly remains constantly inspired of what he can do to continue carrying on Ambrose Riley’s name.

Ambrose Pauly is currently enrolled at Dunwoody College of Technology working to become a mechanic. He is heavily considering becoming a volunteer firefighter, like his great-grandfather, once he completes his associate’s degree.