SAN ANTONIO – Flowers began to line the entrance into Public Safety Headquarters downtown shortly after San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood spoke at length about Thursday night’s fire at a shopping center that claimed the life of 31-year-old firefighter Scott Deem.
“We know it's a tough time, but we want to show our support as citizens to these men and women that make a choice to serve us,” said Maggie Martinez, who brought cards signed by her and her co-workers to the memorial.
Handmade signs and balloons also surrounded the entrance as visitors wrote notes on a large banner taped along the entrance.
“We do have family in other states that are part of the fire department and we basically want to show our girls that you need to pay respects, because they're like normal people like everybody else,” said Kimberly Fall, who brought her two young daughters to the memorial.
“It was a decision he made to protect our city and keep it safe, and it was a great sacrifice,” Amber Lopez said.
Former firefighters from other states walked up to pay their respects, as did other members of the Bexar County public safety community.
“Something like this always brings up memories,” said Tony Alvarez, with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. “One of my best friends, Bobby Deckard, he was killed in the line of duty December 2013, so always when something like this happens, it brings these emotions up and I felt it was our duty to come pay our respects to our fallen brother.”
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