TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – Two Toledo firefighters killed in an apartment blaze have been praised as heroes at a memorial service that drew thousands of people.
Two caskets covered by American flags stood inside Toledo’s convention center Thursday night during the service honoring Stephen Machcinski, 42, and James Dickman, 31.
Speakers praised them for embracing a profession in which they ran toward danger instead of away from it.
Fire Chief Luis Santiago also thanked his community and the many out-of-state firefighters who showed up in a show of support.
Machcinski and Dickman died Sunday while fighting a blaze near downtown. Firefighters found them in the burning building, carried them out on stretchers and tried to save them.
Investigators have not released a cause for the fire or details about what led to their deaths.