Wilmington: On Saturday, Wilmington Fire Department lost two of their own. Firefighters responded to the 1900 block of Lakeview Road in Wilmington at 3:00 A.M. for a reported house fire. Shortly after, the first floor of the home collapsed into the basement trapping two firefighters and seriously injuring four others.
While the four injured made it out alive, two others, LT. Leach, and Senior firefighter Jerry Fickes did not. They died at the scene, and their brothers carried their fallen wrapped in American flags to waiting ambulances and taken to the state medical examiners office in Wilmington.
On Monday, their bodies were finally taken to their respective funeral homes. Senior Firefighter Jerry Fickes was taken to Chandler Funeral Home at 2505 Concord Pike, and Lt. Christopher Leach was taken to St.Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, 809 S. Broom Street in Wilmington.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
In a Monday press release, Wilmington Fire Chief Anthony Goode said, “LT. Leach rushed into the engulfed home on Lakeview Road early Saturday morning thinking there was still people inside. He then became trapped and Senior Firefighter Jerry Fickes, LT. John Cawthray, Senior firefighter Peter Cramer, Senior Firefighter Ardythe Hope, and firefighter Brad Speakman from Wilmington’s Squad 4 Rescue unit went in to attempt to free him when the first floor collapsed.”
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