Quiet reflection at a fireman’s funeral

By Mandy Walton

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 11:07 a.m.

There’s something to be said about public servants -- they take care of their own. Just as in the military, in the world of police and fire, strong bonds form between those who work together. Mostly, this is because of the long hours worked, the traumatic scenes witnessed, and the feeling of camaraderie that develops when working as a team, shift, or squad.

The Henderson Fire Department laid one of its own to rest today, but not without first giving their comrade an elaborate send-off. This full honors funeral for a longtime Henderson firefighter who passed away suddenly to cancer began with a motorcade at 9:30 a.m. at Palm Mortuary on Boulder Highway. I got to Boulder Highway and Major Avenue just in time to see countless fire trucks, engines, ambulances, and police vehicles beginning to make their way north on Boulder Highway toward Fire Station 82, which is at Parkson and Warm Springs. As I drove down Haynes, which is a frontage road that runs parallel to Boulder Highway, I could see residents standing out in back of their houses, watching the motorcade.

Later, on Arrowhead Trail, I stood on the sidewalk waiting to watch the procession pass by me. Two ladder trucks had their buckets extended into the air, draping a very large American flag at the entryway to the Arrowhead LDS Chapel, which was where the funeral was to be held. An eerie silence fell over all who were standing, waiting for the motorcade as two policemen on motorcycles approached.

All of the emergency vehicles in the procession had lights flashing, but no sirens sounded. The first fire engine carried the honored, and was draped with a black bunting across the front of the vehicle. As it turned under the flag to approach the church, two helicopters flew overhead and parted at the point of the flag.

Every fire man and woman was dressed in a Class A uniform complete with white gloves and covers. What must have been this fireman’s crew walked beside the engine that carried him; behind it, his family. After the family, hundreds of uniformed firefighters followed. And after the firefighters, there were uniformed policemen and women, more fire trucks and engines from other agencies in the valley, ambulances, and police cars.

As each vehicle quietly turned underneath the flag, the thought of Sept. 11 struck me: How the funerals for the fallen firefighters must have been quite similar to the one I was standing in the middle of now. This made it hard to keep a few tears back. Even though I did not know this firefighter personally, the gravity and somberness of it all was enough to tug at anyone’s heart. That, and seeing strong, grown men cry.

As I said in the beginning, public safety officers do take care of their own. This procession must have taken days to coordinate and involved a great many people. Some may think that our public safety servants are paid too much and do too little. I’m sure that thought went through at least someone’s mind while they were held up in traffic for this procession. I think that our servants deserve everything they get, including a respectful funeral such as this one, for putting their lives on the line for members of the community. Sure, it’s their job, but it’s more than a job; my job doesn’t ask me to run into a burning building to save someone I don’t know, or to chase down a violent criminal before he hurts an innocent bystander. To me, there’s no specific dollar amount that can be put on that.

Respect is something that should never go out of style and I was honored to respect the Henderson Fire Department by witnessing this somber ritual. While it was interesting to watch, my heart goes out to the grieving family, and I actually hope that we don’t have to watch something like this ever again.