TodayFirefighters mourn loss of lieutenant
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Article RatingThe death of fireman Keith Hess Monday spread grief throughout the emergency response community, but the tragedy devastated two Franklin County companies in particular.
Hess, 22, a lieutenant at Shippensburg's West End Fire and Rescue Co. and a paid firefighter and EMT for the Fannett-Metal Fire and Ambulance Co. in Path Valley, perished while on duty with the Fannett-Metal station.
West End Deputy Chief Jeff Coombe choked back tears as he read a prepared statement at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
"All that had the pleasure of knowing and working with Lt. Hess regarded him as a great friend, firefighter, officer and employee," Coombe said.
Justin Martin, WEFR assistant chief, says he's "thankful" he wasn't at the scene Monday.
"It's just a huge tragedy," Martin says. "I've known Keith since elementary school and I don't know anyone who disliked him. He was just a completely likable guy."
Rebuilds truck
Martin says many WEFR volunteers are reminiscing to cope with the grief. Martin recalls Hess' "pride and joy" — a pickup truck he rebuilt.
"I think it was a Chevy," Martin says. "I know you could hear it coming from a long way off."
Denny Clopper, a West End fireman and an emergency dispatcher in Franklin County, says he talked with Hess and some of his friends at the Fannett-Metal station not long before Monday's 3 p.m. alarm.
"Stevie Sites was on the phone and I could hear Keith in the background," Clopper says. "They were giving me a hard time, disrespecting me in a fun way."
Took school seriously
Hess was a 1998 graduate of Shippensburg Area Senior High School where he was "an A and B student," Principal Fred Shilling says. "He worked very hard academically."
The principal said Hess declared his interest in firefighting early in his high school years.
Hess joined WEFR as a junior member at the age of 14 and became the company's Rookie of the Year in 1997. He was named Firefighter of the Year in 2000.
