With a slow salute and pipers playing, the East Pierce Fire & Rescue family welcomed Dan Packer home Wednesday at the Tacoma Narrows Airport.
Packer, 49, of Lake Tapps, died Saturday while fighting a wildfire in Klamath National Forest in Northern California. He had deployed to the site the day before.
JANET JANSEN/The News Tribune / A DC-3 firefighting plane delivered Dan Packer's body from Northern California, where Packer died after a wildfire overran his unit Saturday.
The U.S. Forest Service DC-3 firefighting plane carrying Packer’s body set down on the runway about 3 p.m. A cordon of more than 100 firefighters stood waiting for the orange-and-white plane.
So did an East Pierce medic vehicle dressed with somber blue-and-black bunting and the fire service’s Maltese Cross in black and gold cloth.
East Pierce interim Fire Chief John McDonald and Packer’s widow, Marylee, stepped from the plane first. They had flown to California earlier Wednesday to bring the body back.
With McDonald’s arm around her shoulders, Marylee Packer walked between the two lines of firefighters. Her sobs pierced the sudden quiet of the taxiway.
Eight members of the East Pierce wildfire-fighting team, each wearing a yellow flame-retardant shirt, a red helmet and dark wool pants, slowly wheeled Packer’s flag-wrapped coffin to the medic unit.
Packer had been their instructor.
Two bagpipers from the Tacoma Fire Department Pipe and Drum Team played a Welsh lullaby.
A white Hummer stretch limousine brought other members of Packer’s family to the airport. They gathered together in grief.
Then, with Bonney Lake Police Department motorcycles in the lead, a procession of East Pierce fire vehicles and two buses filled with firefighters made the journey through Gig Harbor and Tacoma to Powers Funeral Home in Puyallup.
As they passed through Gig Harbor, firefighters and equipment from the Gig Harbor-Peninsula Fire Department lined up on John Avenue to salute Packer. They flew an American flag from an extended ladder.
The University Place Fire Department saluted the procession as it passed under the Jackson Street overpass on Highway 16. An American flag also hung from an extended ladder.
East Pierce firefighters and Packer’s family were still in shock over the loss of their leader known throughout the state and beyond. They asked to not be interviewed.
To further honor Packer, Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg directed that all flags on county buildings be lowered to half-staff.
Ladenburg urged other local governments, agencies and residents to do the same.
The flags will stay that way until Aug. 8, the day after the formal memorial service that is expected to draw hundreds of firefighters from throughout the Northwest.
While East Pierce firefighters and staff paused to honor Packer, firefighters and equipment from other Pierce County departments throughout the area filled in at East Pierce’s stations.
Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692
Memorial for Fire Chief Dan Packer
When: 2 p.m. Aug. 7
Where: Christian Faith Center, 33645 20th Ave. S., Federal Way. The public is invited to the service.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made at any Washington Mutual location to the Fire Chief Dan Packer Memorial Fund. Checks can be mailed to: East Pierce Professional Firefighters, PO Box 7500, Bonney Lake, WA 98391.
West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The News Tribune, Tacoma WA
Nearly 1,000 mourners spilled out of St. Isabella’s church in San Rafael during a funeral Mass Tuesday for Jeff Powers, a high-ranking Southern Marin fire district official who died unexpectedly last week. Powers, 44, a San Rafael resident and the district’s deputy chief, collapsed Thursday at the agency’s Sausalito station while talking to colleagues.
Firefighters in the ambulance bound for Marin General Hospital worked furiously to save the 23-year veteran, who was pronounced dead in the emergency room. Autopsy results are pending, a coroner’s official said Tuesday.
Before the service, a massive contingent of fire vehicles paid tribute with a procession through Terra Linda. Engines came from as far away as Sacramento, South San Francisco and Hayward.
Described as professional, enthusiastic, a pleasure to work with and an exceptional person, Powers was a well-known family man and sports enthusiast who coached his sons’ teams.
Former chief Mike Stone, who delivered the eulogy on behalf of Chief Denis Walsh, spoke of the movie buff who loved football, baseball, basketball and the 49ers, but certainly not the Raiders.
“Jeff had an infectious personality,” Stone said. “Even if he just met you one time, the next time he saw you he made you feel like he knew you forever.
“He would want us to find the strength to move forward,” he said.
Many were reduced to tears as Powers’ oldest child, Matthew, read a letter to his father.
In the church vestibule, dozens of firefighters dressed in formal uniform stood amid pictures of Powers with his family - attending parties, coaching Little League, posing with an Oakland A’s jersey. Southern Marin fire Chaplain Doug Huneke, pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon, said Powers wouldn’t want people to cry.
“Jeff would probably have little tolerance for such somberness,” he said. “He would tell us É live your lives out loud and proud.”
Powers, a Mill Valley native, began his career with the Tamalpais Fire Protection District, which went on to merge with the Alto-Richardson Fire Protection District in 1999 to form the Southern Marin Fire Protection District.
While with Southern Marin, he rose through the ranks, serving as a captain and a battalion chief before being named deputy chief in April 2007. He earned 16 letters of commendation during his tenure.
DONATIONS
Donations in Jeff Powers’ memory may be made to a trust for his sons, Matthew and Anthony Powers, c/o Westamerica Bank, 64 W. Blithedale Ave., Mill Valley 94941
West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The Marin Independent Journal
The deputy chief of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District collapsed at work and died Thursday as his own firefighters tried desperately to save him.
Jeff Powers, a 23-year veteran, was 44 and lived in San Rafael. His survivors include his wife and two small children.
An autopsy is pending.
Powers collapsed at 12:20 p.m. while talking to colleagues at the Spencer Avenue firehouse in Sausalito, said county fire Battalion Chief Mike Giannini. Firefighters tried to resuscitate Powers in the ambulance on the way to Marin General Hospital, but he was pronounced dead after reaching the emergency room.
Firefighters sat on the curb outside the hospital and broke into tears, said Curry Eckelhoff, a fire board member whose daughter-in-law happened to be the emergency room nurse who received Powers.
“Everybody knows everybody,” Eckelhoff said. “They are a very big, tight-knit family. It doesn’t matter what department. Those guys are just unglued.”
Powers, second-in-command at the 52-employee fire department, died the day after the fire board met to appoint a successor to Chief Denis Walsh, who is retiring. The board named Battalion Chief Jim Irving to the post, effective upon Walsh’s expected departure in October.
Powers rose from captain to battalion chief before being named deputy chief in April 2007. He was brought up to fill a vacancy left by Walsh, who took the top post when 32-year veteran Mike Stone retired.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The Marin Independent Journal
In Recognition of our fallen brother: Firefighter Kevin Patrick Pryor
Age: 31
Cause of Death: Stress/Overexertion
Rank: Firefighter
Nature of Death: Cerebrovascular Accident
Incident Date: 06/16/2008
Death Date: 06/17/2008
Fire Dept. Info: Newport Beach Fire Department
3300 Newport Blvd.
PO Box 1768, (USNG: 11S MT 1370 2007)
Newport Beach , California, 92658-8915
Chief: Steve Lewis
Initial Summary: Firefighter Pryor was discovered by a friend at his residence having fallen ill just several hours after he returned from deployment on the department strike team working the Humboldt Fire in Northern California. Pryor was transported to the hospital but passed away from a non-traumatic brain hemorrhage.
Source: USFA
More Info regarding FF Pryor courtesy of the CPF:
MEMORIAL SERVICES
A funeral mass honoring Brother Kevin Pryor will be held next week.
WHEN: Â Tuesday, June 24th, 2008. Services will begin at 12:00noon.
A graveside service will follow the mass at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Villiage, Ca. 91632
A reception will be held in the church hall immediately following grave side services.
APPARATUS:Â Public Safety Agencies wishing to send apparatus and personnel to the services please contact Captain Mike Liberto via email at mliberto@nbfd.net , or call (949) 910-8991 with the number of personnel and apparatus planning to attend.
DONATIONS
If you are interested in making a donation to support Brother Pryor’s family, checks can be sent to:
Firefighter Jay C. Maddy with the Eaton Volunteer Fire Department had responded to a series of arson fires, the community was placed on curfew and a fire watch was established. Approximately 16 hours after working the fire responses and finishing his assignment on the fire watch, Maddy was rushed to Ball Memorial Hospital, suffering from chest pains. He passed away a few hours later from an apparent heart attack.
Two suspects, a juvenile and an 18-year-old male, have been arrested in connection with the reported 21 fires that included four cars, a recreational vehicle inside and a boat sitting outside of a metal garage, numerous trashcans, a moped and a church bus.
Fire Dept. Info:
Eaton Volunteer Fire Department
Box 276
602 E. Harris ST.
Eaton , Indiana 47338
Chief: Kyle Goe
Chief Eusden was in the firehouse working on fire apparatus when he became ill, feeling pain and numbness in one of his arms. Eusden then communicated to another member in the station that he was having difficulty speaking, slurring his words. Chief Eusden was transported to the emergency room via station ALS Unit and was admitted to the hospital. On 05/20/2008 while in hospital Eusden went into cardiac arrest and was unable to be revived. Incident Location: 793 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014
Fire Dept. Info: Aston-Beechwood Volunteer Fire Company
793 Mount Road
Grid: 18S VK 6153 1417
Aston , Pennsylvania 19014
Chief: John Lloyd (Deputy)
Firefighter Jylka was responding to a wildland fire on board fire apparatus to a wildland fire when he suffered a medical emergency and went unresponsive. Another Firefighter began CPR and he was transported by ambulance to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Age: 34
Rank: Firefighter
Incident Date: 04/29/2008
Duty Type: Responding
Activity Type: Riding Vehicle/Apparatus
Fire Dept. Info: Pine City Fire Department
400 5th Street, SE
Pine City , Minnesota 55063
Chief: Tom Miller
WestCoast911.com Fallen Firefighter information source: USFA
Firefighter Eric Speed was operating a tanker enroute to a mutual aid residential structure fire call in a neighboring fire district, when the apparatus left the road way, turning over and striking several trees. The cab of the apparatus was severely damaged by the trees causing Speed to be severely injured. Firefighter Speed was airlifted to the hospital but was pronounced on arrival.
The investigation continues regarding the causes of the accident, such as load factors, traveling speed, and mechanical problems. Reports indicate that unfamiliarity with the particular roadway the apparatus was traveling and the sharp ninety-degree turn where the accident took place may have been a factor in the accident.
Shortly after he and other members of the fire department had brought a fire in a vacant residential structure under control, Firefighter Crockett, for a cause still to be determined, collapsed while on a hose line working overhaul. Other firefighters began emergency medical procedures on Firefighter Crockett at the scene and an ambulance transported him to a nearby hospital. All attempts to revive Crockett, however, were unsuccessful. Press reports indicate that the Kansas City police are assisting the Fire Department in investigating the incident as a “fire of very suspicious circumstances.”
Age: 48
Cause of Death: Unknown
Rank: Firefighter
Death Date: 03/17/2008
Fire Dept. Info:Â Kansas City Fire Department
635 Woodland AVE., STE 2100
Kansas City , Missouri 64106
Chief: Richard Dyer
