Firefighters bid farewell to fallen comrade

By Jean Reid Norman

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | 4:01 p.m.

This is how firefighters say goodbye to one of their own:

Outside the church where he is to be remembered, they hang a 60-foot American flag from the extended booms of ladder trucks.

They turn out by the hundreds to walk three-quarters of a mile to the church, their badges shrouded and their heads bowed.

They nod their heads when his battalion chief calls the firefighter the toughest among them, and they swallow the lump in their throat and hold back tears when the battalion chief's voice cracks just a little.

This is how the Henderson Fire Department bade farewell to firefighter Jeff Mann today.

They followed centuries-old traditions as they took his body in a motorcade from Palm Mortuary on Boulder Highway past his Station 82 on Parkson Road to a fire station three blocks from Arrowhead Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The fire engine that Mann rode until Feb. 2, his last day of work before an aggressive melanoma cancer was discovered, carried his flag-covered coffin. The 10-person crew he worked with day in and day out walked beside the engine as it rolled slowly to the church, leading a block-long column of family members, firefighters in dress uniforms and honor guards representing area police and fire departments.

Mann died Feb. 27 at the age of 57. He left behind his wife, Patrice, nine children and stepchildren and 24 grandchildren.

The procession walked underneath the flag, draped from booms 100 feet in the air, and into the church parking lot, where fellow firefighters greeted it with solemn salutes as it wended its way through. The taps of honor guard shoes accented the soft, unison steps of the firefighters as they marched.

"This is a very traditional tribute," Fire Chief Doug Stevens said. "We're a very traditional bunch in the fire service. The values in the community may go up and down, but our culture is resilient. We're here to serve the public with honor and integrity, and Jeff was a great example of that."

Mann's crew — people his wife said had been by his side through his three-week battle for life — removed his coffin from the engine and accompanied it inside the church, walking between two rows of saluting firefighters from the engine to the church door.

"It's devastating" to lose an active-duty colleague, Station 82 Battalion Chief Shawn White said. "These are people we live one-third of our lives with. It's the uniqueness of the job — you get to know the people, their wives and families."

Station 82 Battalion Chief Tim Veit, Mann's supervisor, spoke for his department as he eulogized the man who had been his mentor 17 years ago, when Veit joined the department.

"Jeff is the toughest man I know," he told the crowd of almost 1,000. "And any of you sitting by a firefighter can probably see their heads nodding right now."

After eulogies, hymns and prayers, the honor guard led the procession out of the church and back to the engine, which carried Mann's coffin to the procession's starting point, Palm Mortuary.

There, the Air Force veteran, who was proud of his service with the Thunderbirds demonstration team, received military honors during his burial.

There, he also received the final tribute of his department: The flag on his coffin was presented to his wife and a fire bell was rung for him one final time.

Jean Reid Norman can be reached at 990-2658 or [email protected].