By Andrea Salazar
The Eagle, Bryan, Texas
BRYAN, Texas — Everyday sights and sounds remind Bryan firefighters of the men they lost in a blaze one year ago.
“Like when someone makes the tea a bit too sweet, it’s always referred to as Wallace Tea,” Lt. Jason Nored told a crowd at a memorial celebrating the lives of Lts. Eric Wallace and Greg Pickard on Saturday afternoon.
“And to this day I can’t drive by the golf course without thinking of Greg’s short game and how much he loved playing golf,” Nored added. “It’s these stories and memories that we share every day that reassure me that Eric and Greg will never be forgotten and that they will always be a part of this fire department.”
Several hundred people gathered in front of the Bryan Firefighter Memorial outside the Clara B. Mounce Public Library to honor the two firefighters killed and the two injured in the Knights of Columbus Hall Fire on Feb. 15, 2013.
Among the attendees, which included Bryan and College Station firefighters and police officers, were Ricky Mantey Jr. and Mitch Moran, who in May returned home from the Blocker Burn Unit in Galveston where they had been receiving treatment for severe burns suffered while trying to rescue Wallace, who had radioed that he was low on oxygen during the fire last year.
While the pair didn’t speak, leaving the talking to Fire Chief Randy McGregor, other members of the department and Bryan Councilman Chuck Konderla, they played a part in the ceremony. Mantey placed the wreath at the memorial obelisk dedicated to fallen firefighters, and Moran surprised the crowd when he ripped off his formal uniform and hopped aboard Fire Truck 1 for his first full-duty assignment since the fatal fire. He had been on light duty, helping out around the office, since the fall.
“I was so proud to see Mitch return to work,” said Brandie Wallace, Eric Wallace’s wife. “That was the best part. I can’t wait for Ricky to be able to do the same.”
During the event, the chief announced plans to erect a new memorial wall honoring fire department retirees and those who died in the line of duty. Details about the new memorial were not immediately released, but McGregor said there was a need for it as the current one is running out of space for names.
Also stopping to visit were members of the Galveston Fire Department’s color guard, who came bearing gifts — four handmade plaques in the shape and colors of the Bryan Fire Department logo. Working from Fire Station 2 in Galveston, which is less than a mile from the hospital where Mantey and Moran were being treated, these firefighters said they spent a lot of time with the Mantey and Moran families last spring.
“We did this for one reason and that’s because we’re brothers,” said Anastacio Urbina Jr., who started making the plaques six months ago. “We’re here for them. They’re an extension of our family.”
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(c)2014 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas)
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