HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — Over a thousand people attended the funeral of a firefighter who was killed while responding to a vehicle crash.
WRIC reported that firefighters from across the U.S. traveled to Virginia to honor Lt. Brad Clark, who died when a tractor-trailer crashed into his fire truck. Two other firefighters were also injured in the crash.
Sacramento firefighter Kevin Summers attended the funeral and said distance doesn’t matter when it comes to the inexplicable bond between firefighters.
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“It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I’ve been, you know, all across the country at firehouses and you’re immediately welcomed as part of the family. The only way to do that is to have the same experience other firefighters have had all across the country.”
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Summers added that incidents such as Clark’s death are a somber reminder for all firefighters.
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“It also kind of brings home that deep down in the back your mind, you know that today could be the last day I put on the boots and a helmet and the last day that I serve the community.”
New York firefighter Liam Flaherty also attended the funeral.
“This guy mattered, he was important,” Flaherty said. “I’m always in debt to the rest of the nation after 9/11. You know, I just saw the outpouring of affection and love and support that came from all over the country and anytime we can pay it forward we try to do it.
Firefighter Carter Lewis, whose leg was amputated after he was injured in the same crash that killed Clark, was escorted to the funeral by a Virginia State Police motorcade after begging doctors and nurses to let him attend, WTVR reported.
The crash occurred on Lewis’ first day on the job.
“He was new. He’s already got that calling in his blood and it’s amazing that he wants to be here,” Henrico County Battalion Chief Doug Reynolds said. “I mean he had a devastating injury. The thing is, he needs it and we need it so it’s awesome that he’s going to be here.”
During the funeral, it was revealed that Clark shouted to his colleagues to warn them about the oncoming tractor-trailer before he died, possibly saving their lives.