By Jeffry Scott
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — By the hundreds, mourners dressed in dark funeral attire lined pews, badges of gold glimmering throughout the church. They were firefighters from scores of fire departments in full regalia on Saturday, saluting the passing of a brother.
Fulton County firefighter Felix Maurice Roberts, 41, died Memorial Day trying to rescue John Callahan, 57, from a Johns Creek house fire that also claimed Callahan’s life.
Roberts was the first Fulton County firefighter killed on the job since 1985 and the second firefighter to die in the metro area since Atlanta firefighter Steven Solomon, 33, succumbed last November from injuries he suffered fighting an abandoned house fire in Vine City on Thanksgiving night.
About 1,500 attended the Saturday service at Elizabeth Baptist Church on Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. They, along with co-workers, friends and family, eulogized Roberts for his bravery and devotion to duty, his sense of humor, and his fondness for food.
Fulton County commissioners Lynne Riley and Bill Edwards commended Roberts for his leadership as a fireman, Riley reading from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, “A Psalm of Life,” and paraphrasing the line about “footprints on the sands of time.”
“He put footprints in the sand that will lead us and inspire us for all time,” said Riley.
Edwards said Roberts was a hero “before he got to that fire” and lost his life trying to save another’s. “All of you who wear that firefighter uniform are heroes. He just paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
City of Sandy Springs Fire Chief Jack McElfish said he dropped by Roberts’ Fulton County Fire Station No. 8 this week to talk about the firefighter, and comrades told him about Roberts’ habit of interrupting mealtime prayers because he was in a hurry to eat.
“In the middle of the prayer, he’d say ‘Amen,’ ” said McElfish. “And then he’d say, ‘Oh, Captain, I thought you were finished.’ ”
Roberts is survived by his mother, Charlie Mae Roberts, and six siblings. His family said he was planning to marry Angela Taub and become a stepfather to her two boys, 11-year-old Devyn Rogers and 6-year-old Kyle Lawyer.
Roberts, who grew up in Tampa, where he played high school sports, served in the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm. He earned a number of medals in the military, including one for Good Conduct and three Bronze Stars.
Roberts’ friend Troy Smith recalled how much he used to kid Roberts about his desire to be a fireman.
When Roberts graduated from the fire academy and joined the Fulton County fire department in 1999, he invited Smith to come over to his house and see his fire equipment.
“He showed me all the stuff he had in the trunk of his car,” said Smith. “I looked around to make sure nobody was looking and tried on the hat. He looked at me and went ‘heh’ — that’s his laugh — and said: ‘OK, now put it back.’ ”
The story drew a big laugh.