Local firefighter honored at national firefighter memorial ceremony

An emotionally charged ceremony at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on Sunday, honored 84 firefighters from across the nation who died in the line of duty during 2014, including one from Myrtle Beach, as well as three firefighters from previous years.

John Burns, 50, who was a lieutenant with the Myrtle Beach Fire Department at the time of his death last December, was among the names added to the Roll of Honor Sunday, along with one other South Carolinian, fallen firefighter Kellen Fleming, 29, of the Westview-Fairforest Fire Department in Spartanburg.

Burns’ death marks the first “line-of-duty” death for the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, according to department spokesman Christian Sliker. He died at the fire station in December of natural causes.

A line-of-duty death includes deaths resulting from traumatic injuries as well as deaths occurring within 24 hours after returning from an emergency response or training activity. Typically, it is a cardiovascular event or stroke caused by stress placed on the body during a fire response, Sliker said.

The 87 fallen firefighters were being honored at the 34th Annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration. Their names will be added to a memorial on the grounds of the Academy that lists all fallen firefighters in the U. S. since 1981.

“It is hard to think of a more selfless profession than firefighting,” the president said.

In addition to recognizing the fallen firefighters, the memorial weekend is designed to support the families and help them cope with their grief. Activities included a candlelight vigil Saturday evening and a Sunday morning service moved due to inclement weather to Mount St. Mary’s University where President Obama delivered remarks, making him the first president to attend the annual event since 2007. He is addressed challenges faced by firefighters during recent wildfires across the Western U.S.

“At the season’s peak, 32,000 firefighters were battling blazes from California to North Carolina,” Obama told families according to the White House website account of his speech. “Thirteen have lost their lives.”

The memorial weekend provides an opportunity for those who worked with the fallen firefighters like Burns on a daily basis to pay their final respects. Considered a mentor to other firefighters in the house, Burns was “always the first to be on the nozzle and to climb the ladder at a house fire,” Sliker said.

“We’ll always miss John,” he said. “He was a one of a kind and a personality you will never be able to replace. He’s looking down on us. We know that.”

“It is hard to think of a more selfless profession than firefighting,” the president said.

Attending the weekend of events were Myrtle Beach firefighters Andy Brown, who represented the department as part of the Pipe and Drums Band, and Brian Whittington, representing the Honor Guard Unit. Each year, as families arrive at the memorial service, they are escorted through a “Sea of Blue” as uniformed fire service personnel line the Walk of Honor.

Also attending the weekend events are 10 members of a Loris family. It is the second year that Ashley Hardee and his family have traveled from Horry County to Maryland for the memorial weekend. As returning survivors, they have a two-fold goal: to offer emotional support for those who have recently lost a loved one or fellow firefighter and to honor the loss of their own loved one, Loris volunteer firefighter Rodney Hardee.

The assistant fire chief of the Loris Volunteer Fire Department, Rodney Hardee was added to the Roll of Honor last year. Ashley Hardee said his father died July 9, 2013 of a cerebral hemorrhage after responding to a couple of fire calls that day.

“He was four days shy of his 40th anniversary with the fire department,” Ashley Hardee said.

He said having his father added to the memorial roster last year allowed him to be recognized for his service. “He never wanted recognition by anyone so this was an honor for us. It was the one time we got to go celebrate what he did,” Ashley Hardee said.

This year, the Hardee family members plan to offer understanding and hopefully some coping skills with first time attendees like the Burns family.

“Just being up here you get to see what an honor it is for the guys listed on the wall. It’s awesome and truly an honor to be here to share with other families. It is definitely a wall of heroes,” Ashley Hardee said of the National Fallen Firefighters Monument that is near the 9/11 Memorial.

“The American people stand with you in honoring your loved ones,” Obama told the families. “We hold you in our hearts.”

Loris firefighter Robert Rudelitch said he attends the memorial weekend every year to help the nonprofit Foundation.

“This is about those who never made it home,” Rudelitch said. “It is for the people who have passed and their families. It is where families can see others who have experienced a similar loss.

They may be in very different phases of grief. It is very emotional.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Local firefighter honored at national firefighter memorial ceremony."