World

Fallen Firefighters Get Fitting Funerals

by Fred Miller | April 16, 2009 at 10:51 pm

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A sad day not only in Tracy, California, but for me on my day off, watching the funeral services for two fallen Houston Firefighters on TV. I would not have been aware of the funeral if not for the sounds of Military choppers continuously flying extremely low over my roof in approximately eight minute intervals.

I had just woken before 9 am, and I ran inside and got my amateur DV Cam and
managed to get a few shots, with mediocre results.

Over 8,000 persons attended the funeral services for Capt. James Harlow, 50,
of Pasadena and probationary firefighter Damion Hobbs, 29, who died battling
the blaze at a southeast Houston home early Sunday. An investigation is underway
but the fallen heroes are considered to have been killed while engaging in a
fire-fighting tactic that requires an immediate response maneuver, where they
do not wait for assessment of the situation but rather attempt to save lives first.This maneuver is also under examination. Harlow and Hobbs were the first Houston firefighters killed since 2005, when 39-year-old Capt. Grady Burke died after a ceiling collapsed as he fought a fire inside another southeast Houston home.

The traditional show of solidarity was truly impressive as traffic slowed to a crawl to witness Firefighters trekking many miles on a humid Houston morning to attend the services held at Grace Community Church.

Although it was just a mile, there were so many mourners that it took more than two hours to get everyone from the station to their seats in the church. Fire departments from as far as Alberta, Canada sent supportive delegations to attend the service.

The buzz of the Apache helicopters from nearby Ellington Air Field flying extremely low over the area were a stirring reminder that there are occasions when every serviceman and woman must take the time to show respect, solidarity and grief for their heroic fallen brethren.