By FireRescue1 Staff
YORK, Pa. — A memorial service honoring two fallen firefighters was interrupted by a house fire that broke out just blocks away.
Local21 reported that a procession honoring York firefighters Ivan Flanscha and Zachary Anthony was underway when smoke could be seen billowing in the background of the service.
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Several firefighters left the procession to respond to the fire, which was at the home of firefighter Don Garrett’s sister.
“There were two kids in the house. She was giving her son a bath, she said everything went dark and she ran into her bedroom and her bed was on fire,” Garrett said.
The fire was extinguished and everyone was kept from harm, and Garrett’s father, Lee, expressed his gratitude for the firefighters.
“People don’t understand what problems they go through to go in a fire to save people, they put their lives in front of everything else,” Lee said.
At the memorial, 5,000 people honored and mourned Flanscha and Anthony.
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“All of Pennsylvania mourns their loss,” Governor Tom Wolf said at the service. “To those who serve in these dangerous and needed roles, this is much more than a job. This is a calling. It is truly a calling.”
Fire Chief David Michaels remembered both Flanscha and Anthony as “kick-ass firefighters.”
“They were more than kick-ass firefighters; they were great people. It was my greatest honor to be their chief.”
Click here to donate to the York Firefighters’ Support Fund.
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