AFD Mourns Death of Two Southeast Texas Firefighters
By: BCH News Staff
Updated: February 18, 2013
They may be hundreds of miles apart across the state, but firefighters are a family.
With the loss of two in southeast Texas over the weekend, the effects are being felt here in the Key City.
Chaplain Chris Hale, who is the chaplain for the Abilene Fire Department and the state, headed down to Bryan, Texas to help the victim's families on Friday.
Ben Cotton of the Abilene Professional Firefighters Association Monday spoke to us about how they deal with the loss of their brothers, and how a tragedy like this highlights the dangers of their jobs.
"We go out on the front line everyday, anyone that's a civil service worker. We know in the back of our heads that this can be the outcome at the end of the day, and we may not come home the next morning," emphasizes Cotton. "I think that's what makes us better at our jobs too."
There are several firefighters here in Abilene who actually trained at the academy in Bryan and knew the men who were killed, so the loss hits even closer to home.
Cotton tells us they do have protocols in place to keep our firefighters safe like a "CAFS" foam system on the trucks that's used to keep them from running into burning buildings.
A memorial for the two fallen firefighters in Bryan is scheduled for Wednesday.
With the loss of two in southeast Texas over the weekend, the effects are being felt here in the Key City.
Chaplain Chris Hale, who is the chaplain for the Abilene Fire Department and the state, headed down to Bryan, Texas to help the victim's families on Friday.
Ben Cotton of the Abilene Professional Firefighters Association Monday spoke to us about how they deal with the loss of their brothers, and how a tragedy like this highlights the dangers of their jobs.
"We go out on the front line everyday, anyone that's a civil service worker. We know in the back of our heads that this can be the outcome at the end of the day, and we may not come home the next morning," emphasizes Cotton. "I think that's what makes us better at our jobs too."
There are several firefighters here in Abilene who actually trained at the academy in Bryan and knew the men who were killed, so the loss hits even closer to home.
Cotton tells us they do have protocols in place to keep our firefighters safe like a "CAFS" foam system on the trucks that's used to keep them from running into burning buildings.
A memorial for the two fallen firefighters in Bryan is scheduled for Wednesday.
