On June 5, thousands of people gathered in Houston, Texas’s Reliant Stadium to honour the lives of four firefighters killed in duty. Dave Levisky, a local firefighter, was among them.
“When we (Cochrane Fire Services) heard about the tragic event, we knew we had to send someone down to the service,” said Levisky upon his return. “It’s a tight brotherhood and sisterhood.”
Levisky estimated about 30,000 to 40,000 people attended the memorial, bidding a final farewell to those firefighters. Captain Matthew Renaud, Robert Bebee, Robert Garner and Anne Sullivan were killed May 31 responding to a call at a Houston motel and restaurant. Many others were injured.
For Levisky, he said these tragic events get him thinking about the element of sacrifice required to firefight. Particularly the death of 24-year-old Sullivan, who had just begun her fire career.
“It’s hard hitting,” said Levisky, adding he spent time training in Texas and knows members of the Houston station.
“It all comes down to a bad call. It really brought home this awareness that this job does have a sacrifice.”
The trip down to Houston was a bit of a one-off for the local fire service. While Levisky said he’d love to see Cochrane representatives at all memorial services for fallen colleagues, it was the large loss that really prompted the trip.
“It left a big impact — it was such a large service,” he said. “When that event occurred, everyone stopped their lives to honour the lives of those firefighters.
“Not that we want a tragedy to happen here, but it’s comforting to know that people from all over North America would come to support us and our families.”
