| Brother when you weep for me, remember that it was meant to be. Lay me down and when you leave, remember I'll be at your sleeve. In every dark and choking hall, I'll be there as you slowly crawl. On every roof in driving snow, I'll hold your coat and you will know. In cellars hot with searing heat, at windows where a gate you meet, In closets where young children hide, you know I'll be there at your side. The house from which I now respond is overstaffed with heroes gone. Men who answered one last bell, did the job and did it well. As firemen, we understand, that death's a card dealt in our hand -- A card we hope we never play, but one we hold there anyway. That card is something we ignore, as we crawl across a weakened floor. For we know that we're the only prayer, for anyone that might be there. So remember, as you wipe your tears, the joy I knew throughout the years. As I did the job I loved to do, I pray that thought will see you through. They did the job they loved to do, and now we must pray that memory will see us through. May God bless each of them, and all of you. |
| Texas Firefighter Struck, Killed at On Duty CHRISTINE RAPPLEYE: Courtesy of The Beaumont Enterprise FANNETT - A volunteer firefighter was killed on Interstate 10 early Tuesday when he was hit by an 18-wheeler as he crossed the highway to respond to another accident. But those close to him said that he was doing what loved: helping people as a firefighter. Charles Lance Mathew, 20, of LaBelle, is the first firefighter killed in the line of duty since the LaBelle-Fannett Volunteer Fire Department was created more than 40 years ago. His death comes just weeks after he was promoted to lieutenant. Mathew was responding to a minor accident at 3 a.m. on I-10 eastbound at mile marker 834, about 13 miles west of Beaumont city limits, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said. Mathew parked his vehicle on the westbound side of the interstate. He was hit by the eastbound 18-wheeler after he walked through the median, the spokeswoman said. Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Ray Chesson pronounced Mathew dead at the scene. Mathew was a 2000 graduate of Hampshire-Fannett High School. He had been volunteering with the 15-member LaBelle-Fannett Volunteer Fire Department for about two years, said Beverly Mathews, his aunt. "(Firefighting) was his passion. He lived and breathed it," Beverly Mathews said. She said her nephew fished in his spare time and thrived on being a firefighter. "He was a very happy young man," she said. "He loved life." Mathew was single and worked at Industrial Anchors as a laborer. The situation that Mathew responded to is not unusual, said Tommy May, spokesman for the Professional Firefighters Local 399 and a Beaumont Fire and Rescue captain. "This was a very tragic situation," May said. "Firefighters respond to auto accidents quite often." As the first people on the scene, May said firefighters often must deal with traffic and other hazards. "Every one of us knows how hazardous this is," May said. "We see many times that motorists do not slow down." Crossing the median to reach an accident is not uncommon, May said. "When you lose a member, it is a tragic time," May said. |
| Captain Tom Kistler - Respected Firefighter Firefighters from Polk County Fire District No. 1 are mourning the loss of Captain Tom Kistler who died in a tragic accident involving a fire engine. The fire engine was traveling in the 6600 block of Talmadge Road when it went into the ditch, striking a tree. Captain Tom Kistler, 53 years of age of Independence was riding in the passenger seat of the engine when he became trapped in the vehicle. Captain Kistler died at the scene. “This is a tragic loss of one of our heroes,” said Fire Chief Mark Prince. “Tom was an extraordinary leader with great dedication to our fire department and he will be missed”. Tom leaves behind his wife Laura and two sons Ben and Phil. Captain Kistler has been a volunteer with the fire department for almost 25 years and has received numerous awards over the past years. Some of them are: · Firefighter of the Year in 1990 Independence station · Letter of commendation April 1993 for setting up Water Bike loan program · Letter of commendation January 1997 for the Silver Falls recovery where a Portland couple drowned · Letter of commendation August 1997 for spectacular performance for two fire emergencies at the same time. · Candidate for Firefighter of year 1997. · Letter of commendation May 1999 for outstanding service with a house fire. · Night Owl award for 2000 for most responses between times of 6pm and 6am. · Special recognition August 2001 for participating with National Night Out. · Top EMS responder for 2001. |
| Firefighter Michael Carlo, 36, was remembered yesterday as a work-hard, play-hard type, who starred on the FDNY's volleyball team though he stood only 5-feet-6. A member of Engine Co. 230 in Brooklyn, he was one of 343 firefighters killed in the World Trade Center attacks. "He is not just a memory, but a lesson to live and treasure life by giving it away," the Rev. Marcello LaTona told mourners at Holy Trinity Church in Whitestone, Queens. Mayor Giuliani said: "The courage and dedication and the spirit that he showed doesn't happen by accident." The mayor thanked Carlo's parents, Robert and Phyllis Carlo, for teaching those values. "Michael died a hero, he died an American hero and a patriot," Giuliani said. The packed church gave the parents a standing ovation. Carlo also leaves an older brother, Rob, a firefighter; and a sister, Nicole. "It seemed the older we got, the closer we came," Rob Carlo said. Rob Carlo said he and his brother had been taking sailing courses. The fallen firefighter's dream was to sail around the world. "Michael understood how precious our time is on this Earth," his brother said. "We often went to fireman funerals together and talked openly about life and death." |
