Hundreds of first responders and community members gathered in Longview, Washington, Tuesday to remember Battalion Chief Mickel Zainfeld, a 25-year Cowlitz County firefighting veteran.
Zainfeld took his own life Sept. 19, after battling work-related post-traumatic stress. He was diagnosed in March and had been put on medical leave.
Seventy fire and emergency responder vehicles led his funeral procession from the Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue station in Kelso to a nearby church in Longview. Along the way, dozens of people gathered to pay their respects and a group of bagpipers played “Amazing Grace.”
In front of the hundreds gathered at the service, Zainfeld was remembered by Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Dave LaFave as a guy with “an infectious smile and a happy demeanor.”
“Mike was an advocate for his crew,” he said. LaFave had known Zainfeld since he’d been a kid visiting his father, a volunteer firefighter, at the firehouse.