Biographical Information
Age: 40
Cause of Death: Fire Chief Chris Adams thought he was suffering from bronchitis when he began having chest pains. Days later, he collapsed in front of the Springfield City Hall and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors later told Adams’ family that the chest pains were due to a blood clot in his chest, which later caused the heart attack.
Springfield, Fla., Fire Department, community honors fallen firefighter
By Ryan Burr
The News Herald
Copyright 2007 The News Herald
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
SPRINGFIELD, Fla. — Springfield Fire Chief Chris Adams was still very busy on Friday, making loops around Springfield and Lynn Haven on Engine 1 and accepting praise from local residents for his leadership and kind spirit. It was a posthumous celebration, one that Springfield Assistant Fire Chief Donny Boyer considered honorable and appropriate for his long-time co-worker and friend.
“We were closer friends than we were work partners,” he said, standing near the tented area in the Lynn Haven Cemetery where Adams had just been laid to rest at sunset.
Adams, 40, died suddenly Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack at Springfield City Hall.
The rest of the week was a stressful one for Springfield firefighters and other local emergency response agencies, who were preparing a tribute to Adams that would both honor him but also console his grieving family.
A 2 p.m. funeral service at Springfield Community Church started Friday’s celebration of Adams’ life. Several hundred people filled the worship hall, where Dan Schroeder, of the Callaway Fire Department, expressed reverence for him.
“He put the value of life above all else, even at the expense of our own life,” Schroeder said. “I praise God that a man like that is among us.”
As firefighters prepared to carry Adams’ flag-draped casket outside of the church and onto the back of Fire Engine 1, Adams’ nephew, Zachary Adams, injected a few thoughts.
“Chris was a great man, a big brother. He was always helpful, goodnatured and happy. He was a true hero,” he said, closing his remarks with a request for everyone to applaud Adams.
After the service, Fire Engine 1 drove past the Springfield Fire Department in a ceremonial goodbye, then headed up Transmitter Road toward the cemetery. En route, his casket passed under a huge American flag held up by Panama City and Panama City Beach ladder trucks at U.S. 98 and Transmitter Road.
Throughout the procession, residents watched, some who didn’t know him, others who were touched by his service. One man stood behind a “thank you, chief, you will be missed” sign. Another man pressed his hand over his heart as the engines passed.
Adams’ firefighters carried his casket from Fire Engine 1 to the burial site in an unfamiliar fashion: After each step, they stopped, set down the casket, and each man rotated forward one space. Bay County Fire and Rescue Lt. Terry Raffield said that was a Native American ritual which was exercised because of Adams’ heritage.
“It represents each walk Chris took in his life, from career to marriage to children,” said Raffield, who watched Adams grow up and is a former Springfield firefighter.
“He treated the men in his fire department right,” Raffield added.
The burial ended with a radio call to Fire Engine 1, with an announcement that “Chief Adams has answered his last call.”