Farewell to the Chief

Farewell to the Chief

Our small town said goodbye today to its Assistant Fire Chief (and former longtime Chief), who died at the age of only 55. The funeral ceremony did things up right. All the fire trucks were there at the high school auditorium. Two trucks extended their ladders over the entrance with an enormous American flag hanging down between them. A nearby city's fire department band, two bagpipes and three drums, led in a procession of many dozens of area volunteer firemen in their dress blues. An honor guard before the casket changed out every 15 minutes with formal salutes, and took care of folding and delivering the casket flag to the Chief's son. At the end of the service, the county emergency coordinator called up the dispatch operator, who came on the fire radio and announced "Fireman 227, 10-7, Out of Service. He's going home," while the bagpipes broke into "Going Home" for the recessional.

At the reception afterward, we learned that a neighboring county's volunteer fire department had teamed up with the local Methodist Church to pile many serving tables full of food -- and while the Chief's department was at the funeral, they went and cleaned the fire station from top to bottom.