Godfrey Fire Capt. Jacob “Jake” Ringering was remembered Wednesday as the “embodiment” of the Godfrey Fire Protection District.
Ringering, 37, was killed Tuesday after part of a brick wall collapsed on him and other firefighters during a mutual aid call to a house fire on Culp Lane. During a press conference Wednesday at the Godfrey Fire Station 1, Godfrey Fire Chief Erik Kambarian described Ringering as “gold.”
“He embodied this department,” Kambarian said. “People joined this department because of Jake and people wanted to be like Jake.
“He’s left a trail, a legacy that will be remembered for a long time to come,” Kambarian added.
In addition to firefighters and the media, a number of elected officials and others attended.
“He could train anybody to do anything, and he was a natural leader,” Kambarian said. “People wanted to work with him, they wanted to pull duty with him because they could learn from him.”