Firefighters and their trucks traveled from all over Southern Ohio to Logan on Friday to attend the funeral of 38-year old Senior Firefighter Jeff Armes.
Armes collapsed Sunday while fighting a house fire in Nelsonville. He is believed to be the first firefighter in that city to die in the line of duty. During the funeral, friends remembered Armes as a hero, an extraordinary teacher, and a loving husband and father.
Armes had been in the fire department since 2011. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
For those who knew him best, Friday was a day they never saw coming.
“Jeff was an excellent young man. I've known him since he was born," said Tim Lawrence, assistant fire chief of Starr Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Armes was carrying a fire hose up a steep grass hill when he collapsed.
“He was always well trained, he did what he had to do to get the job done,” Lawrence said.