Crime & Safety
Fallen Firefighter Procession: Tributes Made In Baltimore, Pasadena, MoCo
A fallen firefighter procession will pay respects in MD. Honors are planned in Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
MARYLAND — A Tuesday procession will honor a firefighter who died while his crew battled a blaze this weekend in Maryland.
Officials will transport Master Firefighter Christopher J. Higgins, 46, from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to McCully Polyniak & Collins Funeral Home in Pasadena.
Higgins died Saturday while his Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crew responded to a house fire in Laurel.
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Higgins was the driver of Truck 715 (Burtonsville), which was called to a fire on Bradford Drive in Prince George's County. A news release from the fire department said Higgins suffered a "medical event" as crews fought a fire in a carport, and Higgins died from his injuries.
The procession was expected to depart Baltimore at 10 a.m., taking Interstate 95 south. It will continue through Montgomery County, making its way past the Takoma Park (FS702), Glenmont (FS718) and Burtonsville (FS715) Fire Stations. Arrival in Burtonsville is expected between 11 and 11:30 a.m.
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The procession will then return to Interstate 95 and head north. It will drive east on Maryland Route 100, pass Higgins' former post at the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Department (FS13) and travel to the funeral home in Anne Arundel County.
Many fire departments throughout the Baltimore-Washington area will pay their respects along the route. A map of the route is posted here.
Higgins' family and fellow shift members will accompany him throughout the journey.
"In keeping with the family's wishes, it is respectfully requested that no Fire Department personnel other than those assigned to the procession attend at the Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore or the Funeral Home in Anne Arundel County. Please honor these wishes by paying your respects only at the designated locations, either at fire stations or safe areas along the route," the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service said in a press release.
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