JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hundreds of firefighters watched solemnly Wednesday morning as a Jacksonville Fire-Rescue color guard carried a casket imprinted with Jacksonville Fire-Rescue shield holding the remains of fallen firefighter Chris Swary into St. Paul's Catholic Church in Riverside.
Jacksonville Fire-Rescue Chief Kurtis Wilson described Swary as "a fireman's fireman, the highest honor you can give."
The 43-year-old firefighter died late the evening of Feb. 2 when his SUV crashed into a JEA truck picking up cones on the Arlington Expressway.
Swary, who had been with the department since 2002, was set to be promoted to engineer in July. That honor was bestowed posthumously at the service.
Friends and coworkers said that Swary was someone that you always wanted around, a man who loved his family and his daughters and always came to work ready for every call that came in.
"(He) always had a smile on his face; always had a good joke or story," said Noel Mitchell, a friend. "He was kind of just a fun guy to be around."
As the funeral ended, bagpipes played and Swary was honored with a 21-gun salute. At the same time, JFRD dispatch broadcast an end-of-watch call:
Attention all stations, this is the last alarm for firefighter Chris Swary. The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department is grateful for your dedication and service. Your assignment is complete, may you rest in peace. End of message.”
Since the day of his crash, the fire department has been there for Swary’s family, and for each other. At Station 11, where Swary worked, the flag flew at half staff Wednesday.
"Every third morning, he was sitting around, having a cup of coffee with (fellow firefighters)," Jacksonville Association of Firefighters President Randy Wyse said. "You know, probably the day before his accident, that he was on shift, thinking it was a normal day."
Swary's colleagues are still working with grief counselors.
A GoFundMe account set up to help Swary's family raised more than $7,000 in less than a week.