Thousands honor fallen firefighters

By GREG SMITH

The Associated Press

KEOKUK, Iowa --- Amid the mournful sound of bagpipes, three firefighters who died trying to save a family three days before Christmas were honored Sunday by some 2,500 colleagues from across the nation.

Firefighters from as far away as Los Angeles and Worcester, Mass., where six firefighters died in a warehouse blaze earlier this month, joined a memorial service in the high school gym, the only building in this southeast Iowa town large enough to hold the more than 4,000 mourners who gathered.

"Together, today, we gather to pay tribute to three fallen heroes," Fire Chief Mark Wessel said, removing his glasses and dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief. "Today, we honor three men who unselfishly gave their lives performing their duties as firefighters."

Assistant Fire Chief Dave McNally, 48, and firefighters Jason Bitting, 29, and Nathan Tuck, 39, died Wednesday trying to save Melissa Cooper and her four children from their burning duplex.

Cooper, 26, and her son Jacob McFarland, 4, survived and have been released from the hospital. Her twin toddlers and 7-year-old daughter died, and their funerals were held Sunday.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

The three men who died fighting it were the first firefighters in Keokuk to die in the line of duty.

During the service, the fire chief shared anecdotes about each man, such as McNally's unparalleled knowledge of equipment and culinary skills, Bitting's easy-going personality and Tuck's pride in being a firefighter.

"Their strength, their character, is inspirational," Wessel said.

Their families were presented with gold medals from the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents 230,000 firefighters in the U.S. and Canada, and IAFF Chief of Staff Harold Schaitberger read a letter of condolence from President Clinton.

A bell symbolizing the firefighters' last call rang to end the service.

More than 100 fire trucks drove to Keokuk for the service and firefighters' funerals, planned today. Two were parked outside the high school entrance with their ladders raised to support a U.S. flag.

"We really are an extended family," said Dave Van Holstyn, a lieutenant in the Grand Rapids, Mich., fire department who left home Christmas night to attend the memorial service. "I think everyone knows it might happen, but you never really expect it."

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