Sackets Harbor (WSYR-TV)- Mourners came from all over to say goodbye to a Sackets Harbor and Fort Drum Firefighter killed in a silo explosion on Sunday. Just days before the accident, 26-year-old Garret Loomis had been elected assistant chief in Sackets Harbor.
The memorial was held at Sackets Harbor High School, where Loomis had graduated nine years earlier.
From a young age, fighting fires was all Garret Loomis wanted to do, said family friend Rob Horr. "In this dark moment we should all be comforted by the fact that Garrett was doing what his family has always done, helping people, that is the fabric of the Loomis family," Horr said.
Fort Drum firefighter Stephen Jellie said Loomis was living his dream. "Garrett William Loomis was living the dream," he said. "An accomplished high school student athlete, a distinguished college graduate, a professional firefighter, a pillar of this community."
Nine years ago he left here as a graduate, today the occasion was much more solemn as people turned out to remember and honor the life of Garrett Loomis.
Loomis may now be gone, but he will live on through the difference he made in the tight-knit community that gathered to honor him.
Memorial service for fallen fire fighter to be held
Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County (WSYR-TV) – A memorial service for Sackets Harbor Assistant Fire Chief Garrett Loomis will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 15 at Sackets Harbor Central School.
Loomis, 26, was killed in the line of duty on Sunday when the department responded to an emergency at a farm in the Jefferson County town of Hounsfield. The department confirmed that Loomis was on top of a silo at the site when it exploded causing severe injuries. He was transported to Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown where he was pronounced dead.
Among those attending the service are a group of firefighters from North Carolina, where Loomis once worked. Those men and women are staying the night Wednesday at the Adams Fire Department.
No calling hours will be held and there will be no procession of fire apparatus. Uniformed firefighters planning to attend the service are asked to RSVP by calling (315) 772-6338.
Previous Coverage:
Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County (WSYR-TV)- Investigators have identified the fire fighter who died in the line of duty Sunday morning as Assistant Fire Chief Garrett Loomis, 26, of the Sackets Harbor Fire Department.
Loomis died Sunday morning while on scene of a silo explosion in the Town of Hounsfield.
Reports are that while the silo was burning it exploded while Assistant Fire Chief Loomis was up on top of or near it.
The farm is also the same location where a fire destroyed a barn and killed more than a 100 cattle on Thursday.
