Twenty-eight firefighters who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty were honoured today as their names were added to the firefighter's memorial at Queen's Park, Sunday.

This year's ceremony is particularly special because it revealed the newly restored monument, fixing damage caused when someone vandalized it with large anti-government graffiti last year.

At the memorial, speakers remembered firefighters who gave up their lives while on duty.

"The cost of their devotion to duty has been great," said Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley.

"We honour the firefighters who place lives on the line to protect the people of Ontario and the brave families who support them in their work."

Today's additions bring the total number of names to 500, with the first dating back to 1848. Most of those recognized this year died from cancer or other job-related illnesses.

Ten of the firefighters honoured today served in Toronto fire departments before and after they were amalgamated.

One of the higher-profile firefighters honoured this year is Toronto District Chief Robert Leek who collapsed and died while fighting the Sunrise Propane explosion that forced 13,000 people to evacuate, killed a worker and left many homes unsafe to live in.

The monument restoration project cost the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Ontario government half a million dollars. The person who defaced the monument has never been identified.

The new monument still features the iconic sculpture of a firefighter clutching a child he is rescuing.

The ceremony comes the day before Fire Prevention week begins tomorrow.

During an open house at the academy where firefighters train, one woman was there to personally thank them.

As her Toronto apartment burned in February, Javiera Ocaranza dropped her baby daughter out a second floor window in order to save her life.

A neighbour caught the girl and she survived. The mother hugged firefighters and thanked them for rushing to the scene. Now she is teaching her daughter fire safety techniques like stop, drop and roll.

"Teach your children, and that is something that I didn't even connect until now, that I need to teach my daughter about a fire escape plan," she said.

Firefighters will be going door to door during fire prevention week to check smoke and Carbon-Monoxide alarms and will be visiting schools.