First responders converged outside the Willow Community Center on Sunday.
"This is the first time I've ever done a procession for a firefighter killed in the line of duty, or passed away in the line of duty," said Sgt. Ryan Anderson of the Alaska State Troopers.
He and others gathered for the memorial service for Roger DeLongchamp. The 66-year-old Willow firefighter died Jan. 18 while responding to a call.
"In places like Willow and other rural communities, these are our brothers and our sisters," Anderson said. "When someone suffers a loss, like we have here, we feel it together as a partnership, as a brotherhood."
A trooper dispatch said DeLongchamp died of natural causes. He served with the Willow Fire Department for about three and a half years.
The large turnout by fellow first responders was not the only tribute given to DeLongchamp.