Firefighters memorial

Back to the PORTHOLE II Web site

442 Fire Fighters have lost their lives in the line of duty in 2001, 4 from New Jersey, 343 in New York City on 9-11-01 after the murderous and cowardly attacks on our country.

11/19/2001	Clifford White, 21	Volunteer	Cameron, WV F/FWhite was a passenger in a tanker enroute to a woodland fire when the apparatus left the roadway and overturned, killing him.
11/10/2001	Harold Strode, 46	Career	Nashville, TN While working a wildland fire line, Firefighter Strode was killed when he was overcome by a firestorm in the densely wooded and steep terrain of the Upper Cumberland Region of Tennessee.
11/09/2001	George Danielson, 77	Volunteer	Mine Hill, NJ F/F Danielson was directing traffic in front of the firehouse as fire engines were returning from the scene of a chimney fire when he was struck by a private vehicle and sustained multiple injuries. He was transported to the hospital for treatment where he remained until he passed away as a result of the injuries.
11/02/2001	Dennis Dart, 62	Volunteer	Rhinelander, WI F/F Dart died after suffering a heart attack while at the scene of a vehicle fire.
10/25/2001	William Howzdy, 71	Volunteer	Glenn Dale, MD Heart Attack
10/24/2001	Michael Elliott, 46	Volunteer	Maple Rapids MI Hit by tree when performing storm-watch duties along with the fire department while the community was under a tornado warning.
10/14/01	Bob Marsh, 72	Volunteer	Las Vegas, NV Capt Marsh suffered a fatal heart attack while responding to a reported vehicle accident.
10/13/2001	Jay Jahnke, 40	Career	Houston, TX Capt Jahnke and several other firefighters were conducting search and rescue operations in a burning 40-story building when they became trapped along with many of the residents on the fifth floor. Four firefighters were injured and were transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where Captain Jahnke later died from apparent smoke inhalation.
10/13/2001	Kenneth Frayne, 28	Volunteer	Channahon, IL F/F Frayne died during dive rescue training.
09/26/2001	Neil Woodward, 32	Volunteer	Baker, FL Capt Woodward had discovered a fire originating in the bathroom of his residence. He removed his young daughter from the structure and worked with responding firefighters in extinguishing the fire. Shortly thereafter, he complained of minor chest pain and was moved to an ambulance where he collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while enroute to the hospital.
09/25/2001	Clarence Kreitzer	Volunteer	Bowie, MD F/F Kreitzer died early in the morning Tuesday, September 25, 2001. He had been working for a number of hours at the site where a tornado touched down on Monday, on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, providing specialized lighting services for the search and rescue effort. Firefighter Kreitzer returned to the station after complaining that he was not feeling well and shortly thereafter, while returning home in his private vehicle, suffered an apparent heart attack and died.
09/25/2001	Bradley Golden, 19	Volunteer	Clinton, NY
September 11, 2001 Manhattan Box 8087
09/16/2001	Willie Barns, 66	Volunteer	Browns Mills, NJ Fire Police Lieutenant Barns died of an apparent heart attack while responding in his private vehicle to work a traffic control point following a transformer fire that had disabled traffic lights in the area
09/08/2001	Allan Marriott	Volunteer	Port Townsend, WA F/F-Engineer Marriott collapsed of a cardiac event while performing fire ground operations. He was transported to the hospital where he later died.
09/07/2001	Robert Augustyn, 57	Career	Cicero, IL Lt. Augustyn and another firefighter were spotting for the driver as he backed the engine down a traffic-congested roadway to exit the accident scene and return to the station. Lt. Augustyn slipped and became trapped under the engine. He was transported to the hospital where he later died of internal injuries.
08/29/2001	Darryl Dzugen, 35	Career	Tampa, FL Captain Dzugen was participating in physical fitness activities at his station when he collapsed (cause still to be determined). He was transported to the hospital where he later died.
08/28/2001	Michael Gorumba, 27	Career	Brooklyn, NY Michael Gorumba collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack while fighting a three-alarm fire at an auto body shop.
08/27/2001	Larry Groff, 55 Lars Stratte, 45	Pilot Pilot	Sacramento, CA Pilot Larry Groff was flying an air tanker that collided mid-air with another air tanker piloted by Lars Stratte. Both pilots died as a result of the collision.
08/21/2001	Stephen Petrusik	Volunteer	Lansdowne, MD Firefighter Petrusik reported to his station for routine duties. He collapsed in his truck on the apron of the station and was treated and transported to the hospital. He died at the hospital of a cause still to be determined (probable heart attack).
08/19/2001	Robert Hazlett, 52	Volunteer	Odell, OR F/F Hazlett died from injuries received when the water tender fire apparatus he was returning to the station after being serviced had the front right tire blowout. The apparatus left the roadway and struck a tree head-on.
08/18/2001	Richard Shoaf, 43	Volunteer	Swarthmore, PA F/F-EMT Shoaf was responding to a medical emergency in the Borough of Swarthmore when he became ill and collapsed while at the station of an apparent heart attack.
08/10/2001	James Pelton, 58	Career	Mason, MI Fire Chief James Pelton died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while in route to a meeting.
08/01/2001	Ralph Blackmar, 66	Volunteer	Foster, RI F/F Warren Blackmar died from a cause still to be determined, possibly a heart attack, while returning from a structure fire. The fire truck he was driving left the roadway, struck a pole and rolled over.
07/26/2001	Kirk Schafer, 36	Career	Kerman, CA F/F Schafer was filling a new fire truck's tanks with water from a hydrant. A nearby 300-pound pressurized tank, for reasons still to be determined, had a catastrophic failure rocketing into the air and landing on the fire truck F/F Schafer was servicing. Debris from the tank or the fire truck struck him in the head. He was transported to the hospital where he passed away the next day never regaining consciousness.
07/16/2001	Eddie Mathis, 45	Volunteer	Dallas, NC Lieutenant Mathis was responding to a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident on his privately owned vehicle (motorcycle). While enroute, he was involved in a separate motor vehicle accident where he sustained fatal injuries.
07/12/2001	Jeff Chavis, 22	Career	Lexington, SC F/F Chavis received second and third degree burns to more than 50% of his body on June 16th, 2001, while fighting a fire in a Lake Murray subdivision. He was caught by falling debris in a garage area of one of the two homes destroyed by the fire. F/F Chavis succumbed to his injuries late Thursday afternoon, July 12th, 2001, at the Augusta Burn Center.
07/10/01	Tom Craven, 30 Karen Fitzpatrick, 18 Jessica Johnson, 19 Devin Weaver, 21	Career	Wenatchee, WA Crew Chief Tom L. Craven and F/Fs Karen L. Fitzpatrick, Devin A. Weaver and Jessica L. Johnson were killed when they were overcome by the Thirty Mile Fire in the Chewuch River Valley, north of Winthrop, WA. The fire rapidly progressed and grew from approximately 5 acres to over 2500 acres within 2 ½ hours.
07/10/2001	Doug Gilbert, 52	Career	Coeur d’Alene, ID Pilot Doug Gilbert, flying a single engine air tanker and dropping retardant on the north-central Idaho backcountry while battling a 500-acre fire, was killed when, for a cause still to be determined, the aircraft crashed.
07/10/2001	Cynthia Verburg, 47	Career	Clayton, Oh Blunt trauma from tree in excess of 4000 pounds falling on cab of medic vehicle.

06/30/2001	Joe Vargason, 69	Volunteer	Maine, NY Fire Police Vargason was struck and killed by a pickup truck while directing traffic early Saturday morning in support of the fire department’s response to a vehicle fire. Vargason was wearing an orange vest and a yellow helmet as he directed traffic with a flashlight in the middle of Route 26, the main thoroughfare running north and south through the Town of Maine, but the driver of the pickup truck, who has been charged with driving while intoxicated and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, did not see him.
05/30/2001	Donald Souza, 64	Career	Centerville, MA Captain Souza received a severe electric shock while working at a structure fire on 12/23/1995. The injury forced his early retirement due to cardiac complications and eventually his death from the same cause.
06/18/2001	Jeremy Chandler, 27	Volunteer	Moses Lake, WA Cause of Death: F/F Chandler collapsed and died from a cause still to be determined while operating a water tanker fighting a 20-acre brush fire several miles north of Moses Lake.
06/17/01	Harry Ford, 50 John Downing, 40 Brian Fahey, 46	Career	NYC, NY Eight children lost their Dads on Fathers Day today. Father's Day turned tragic in Queens Sunday afternoon when an explosion at a building fire killed three New York City F/Fs who leave behind eight children and left a fourth fighting for his life, officials said. At least 80 other emergency workers were injured, officials said. F/F Brian Fahey was inside a burning hardware store when propane tanks and paint exploded in the basement. He fell through the floor becoming trapped for several hours in the basement where he died. F/F John Downing and F/F Harry Ford were killed when the facade of the burning building fell down on them. They were venting windows when a blast occurred inside the structure. Both were quickly pulled from beneath the rubble and taken to Elmhurst Hospital where they were pronounced dead.
06/15/2001	Carl Cook, 55	Career	Birmingham, AL Captain Cook was completing an annual physical test, which simulates tasks F/Fs perform on the fire scene, when he complained of shortness of breath and chest pain. Captain Cook was treated by fellow F/Fs at the scene and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from an apparent heart attack.
06/02/2001	Travis Brown, 30	Volunteer	Dearborn, MO F/F Brown was a passenger riding in fire apparatus (tanker) responding to a mutual aid alarm when the vehicle left the roadway. F/F Brown was ejected when the tanker overturned.
05/22/2001	Lawrence Webb, 37	Career	Newark, NJ F/F Webb collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while fighting a fire inside a residential structure.
05/16/2001	Ritchie Eutsler, 30	Career	Republic, MO On-duty shift personnel went to awaken Captain Eutsler when oncoming shift workers arrived and found that he had expired in his sleep sometime during the night.
05/14/2001	Willard Christoffer	Volunteer	Western Springs, Il F/F Christoffer died during a training activity when for reasons unknown he accidentally fell approximately 65 feet down the aerial ladder.
05/09/2001	Alberto Tirado, 40	Career	Passaic, NJ F/F Tirado died when he became trapped on the third floor of a working fire in an apartment building. F/F's were unable to get through the flames in time to rescue him. He was doing a search for what was an erroneous report of trapped children.
04/24/2001	James Rupkey, 58	Volunteer	Troy, MI Lieutenant Rupkey collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while participating in search and rescue training wearing full turnout gear and SCBA.
04/10/2001	Brian Reed, 39	Career	Holmes Beach, FL F/F Reed was standing on a 15-foot extension ladder and was working on a fixture in the apparatus bay. He either lost his balance or was electrocuted by the wiring and fell from the ladder onto a concrete floor, dying a short while later at the hospital from the injuries he sustained.
04/09/01	Richard Canouse, 69	Volunteer	Milford, PA Fire Coordinator Canouse died of an apparent heart attack upon arrival of what had been reported as a possible structure fire in Milford.
01/13/01	Donald Franklin, 42	Career	NYC, NY Ladder 44, was killed while searching a burning apartment building in the Bronx where two residents died.
01/04/01	Gregg McLoughlin, 39	Career	NYC, NY Engine 302 in Queens, suffered cardiac arrest in his firehouse.
Line of duty deaths in the year for prior years
2001 442 2000 102 1999 112 1997 94 1996 95 1995 96 1994 104 1993 77 1992 75 1991 109 1990 108 1989 119 1988 136 1987 131 1986 121 1985 126 1984 119 1983 113 1982 125 1981 135 1980 140 1979 126 1978 171 1977 157

In Memory Of 3 Brother Fire Fighters
Killed In The Line Of Duty
New York City, NY
06/17/2001

Harry Ford Rescue 4, Queens
Brian Fahey Rescue 4, Queens
John Downing Ladder 163, Queens

In Memory Of 3 Brother Fire Fighters
Killed In The Line Of Duty
Keokuk, Iowa
12/23/99

Police tape and flowers hang from a street sign at the scene of
Wednesday's fatal blaze that took the lives of three young children
and three firefighters, Thursday, Dec. 23, 1999 in Keokuk, Iowa.
Investigators are expecting to have any answers to the cause of
the blaze until next week. (AP Photo)

In Memory Of 6 Brother Fire Fighters
Killed In The Line Of Duty
Worcester, Massachusetts
12/03/99

Engine 7

PRESIDENT ALFRED K. WHITEHEAD

EULOGY AT WORCESTER FIRE FIGHTER'S MEMORIAL SERVICE

There are givers and there are takers in this world and fire fighters are truly givers. They give of themselves, on the job and off, and sometimes they give their lives to protect the lives and property of others.

That is what happened here in Worcester last Friday night when six of our fire fighters joined the ranks of the IAFF's bravest of the brave.

It is unfortunate, but in ours, the most dangerous profession, the specter of death is something fire fighters must face. From the time they leave the academy, every fire fighter understands that the next alarm may be their last. They understand the risks they face on every fire, large or small, and that death or serious injury… may be around the next corner. This is one of the tragic truths of our job and all of us acknowledge that when we choose to become fire fighters.

Every fire fighter is an individual and in many ways we're all very different. But when it comes to our profession, we're all very much the same…

In an era when heroes are hard to find, few would dispute that fire fighters are America's heroes. At a time when bravery is in short supply, fire fighters demonstrate the essence of bravery. Although some suggest that the notion of duty has been forgotten, fire fighters epitomize what duty really means. And in a society where sacrifice is seldom practiced, fire fighters are too often called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Rarely do fire fighters talk about the dangers that are an ever-present part of their job. They don't talk about the suffering they see and the pain they feel in the course of their normal workday. If you are not one of us, you don't know this. But this is who we are. This is what we do. Every fire fighter and paramedic in this arena and every IAFF member across the U.S. and Canada understand what I am saying. Fire fighters know they can count on each other whether they are the best of friends or they have never met.

This is a bond that every fire fighter shares. It is a bond that knows no geographic boundaries. And it is that very bond, that strong kinship, that guarantees, without question, that fire fighters will do whatever is necessary to try and rescue their brother or sister fire fighters from treacherous infernos like that horrific fire last Friday.

Here in Worcester four of our six fallen heroes remain entombed in that smoldering warehouse. It is a tragedy of epic proportions. But as fire fighter Frank Raffa, the President of the Worcester Fire Fighters Local 1009, made clear in his remarks: the Worcester Fire Fighters will not give up and they will not rest until they deliver these fallen heroes to their families.

Even as we honor these heroes here today, the recovery efforts continue at the warehouse site. There is not a fire fighter or paramedic in this hall today who would question that decision because such determination is also a part of who we are.

As with all fire fighters, these six fire fighters were ready and willing to lay their lives on the line to protect the citizens of Worcester and in this case, that’s exactly what happened.

I can assure you that our fire fighters here in Worcester will continue to perform their sworn duties and put the lives of your citizens ahead of their own. They would have it no other way because there is no other way.

When these fallen fire fighters are recovered from that warehouse and laid to rest life will return to normal for most citizens of Worcester. But for the loved ones.... and the many friends these fire fighters left behind life will never be the same.

Nothing can erase the grief and sorrow you feel over your loss, but I hope and pray you can take comfort in knowing that there was abundant meaning in their lives. Take heart in knowing that they were engaged in an endeavor that is a measure of human greatness and that they will always be remembered for their, courage, honor, and selfless dedication Always remember that they made a difference in this world because they died doing something that mattered.

I extend my deepest sympathies to each of the families and offer you sincere condolences from the 232,000 members of the International Association of Fire Fighters. I promise you that we will keep their memory alive in our hearts and our minds. Their names will be enshrined on the marble wall of honor at the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs so that all fire fighters…. present and future will never forget the sacrifices they made.

I know that every fire fighter across the world is praying for completion of the recovery activities so that each of the families can seek closure. And I know that each of these men has earned a special place in heaven.

May they rest in peace.


Ladder 2	Engine 3	Rescue 1
Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42 A fire department lieutenant and a Worcester native, he attended Catholic schools for 12 years, graduating from St. Peter's High School. He was married for 20 years and had three teen-agers, two boys and a girl. He was active in his sons' Boy Scout troop.	F/F James F. Lyons, 34 Graduated first in his fire academy class in 1987. A F/F for 12 years, he had recently taken the test to become a lieutenant and had scored well, according to his father, James Lyons Jr., a retired city teacher. He was single.	F/F Paul A. Brotherton, 41 Spent more than 16 years with the department. A Worcester native, he graduated from Burncoat High School and served four years in the Air Force. He worked as a Worcester City Hospital orderly, where he met his wife, a nurse, before joining the fire department. The couple had six sons, ages six to 16.
F/F Timothy P. Jackson, 51 Hopedale resident and father of two children. A 27-year veteran of the Worcester fire department, he was remembered as a man who loved to ride his Harley.	F/F Joseph T. McGuirk, 38 A resident of the Rochdale section of Leicester, he was a third generation F/F. The extended McGuirk family has more than 200 years of firefighting service. McGuirk, a father of two, was a carpenter until he became a F/F three years ago.	F/F Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38 A resident of the Cherry Valley section of Leicester, had been a F/F for about 10 years. He and his wife Michelle had two sons, John Patrick, 8, and Jeremiah M. Lucey, 11. A Worcester native, Lucey spent a month each summer camping with his family near Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island. He hoped to own a house there one day. Lucey wasn't scheduled to work on Friday, but was filling in for a colleague who needed the day off.
	Local 1009


We Shall Not Forget