BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Flags at fire stations across the City of Buffalo were lowered to half-staff on Friday in memory of fallen Buffalo firefighters Jonathan Croom and Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy.
Saturday will mark 15 years since they were killed in the line of duty.
"The anniversary for any tragedy can be heartbreaking," Angie Heusinger, Firefighter Croom's mother, told me. "You would think after so many years that things would get easier, but they really don't, they just bring back memories of all the events. They bring back all of the loss that we've experienced."
On August 24, 2009, Croom and Lt. McCarthy were among the firefighters who responded to a fire at a deli on Genessee Street. At one point it was believed that a person was trapped in the basement, so Lt. McCarthy went back into the building. The floor partially collapsed and Lt. McCarthy fell through. Croom went to try and find McCarthy. Crews lost contact with both men.
Heusinger said her son was extremely proud to be a firefighter.
"He loved the adrenaline. He loved being able to do that job. He was very serious about what his work entailed and very devoted to that," said Heusinger.
In the years since the tragedy, Heusinger said she's had the chance to learn more about Lt. McCarthy, his family, and her son's actions on that fateful night.
"Who did he go in there to run and save? Who was it he was going to take care of at that moment? By meeting, especially Chip McCarthy's brother Dan, I have come to know them as a very gracious, very loving family," said Huesinger.
"Both were members of the Buffalo Fire Department. Very well liked, very well respected," said Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo.
Commissioner Renaldo said he worked with both Croom and McCarthy and said several safety protocols have changed over the last 15 years including upgraded equipment, the use of portable radios, and the addition of an accountability officer.
The commissioner also said the tragic loss also highlighted the importance of the two-in-two-out rule.
"The two-in-two-out rule has been with us for a while we reinforce it on a daily basis. Every incident we go on, we reinforce two-in-two-out. It's very important from an accountability standpoint," said Renaldo.
On Saturday, family, friends and fellow firefighters will gather to honor both Croom and McCarthy starting with a silent vigil at the fire scene on Genessee Street shortly before 4 a.m., when the first alarm came in.
"When the anniversary arrives with these line of duty deaths, you look back, just thank and remember, and do everything you can to keep their remembrance alive," said Commissioner Renaldo.
Mourners will also attend a mass at St. Joe's Parrish on Saturday morning, a reception at Ladder 7, and a ceremony at Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.
"I am really, really grateful that this is a small community that really does appreciate each other, and that we do remember that our first responders are our everything," said Heusinger.
