to accompany the family in making arrangements with the funeral home and assist the family with determining the level of involvement the family would like for the department to have with the services. This will include explaining the traditions and honors that are available so the family can decide their wishes (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The funeral officer will be assigned responsibilities that include the formation of the order of services and events the day of the service. This person will ensure any special request the family makes is prepared to be honored. The funeral officer will be responsible for making sure every element of the service is prepared and the schedule is properly communicated to the appropriate people and groups (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The procession officer bears the responsibility of coordinating the elements of the procession. The procession will typically include going from the funeral home to the church or place of funeral service, and then to the cemetery or other place of final disposition. This officer will plan and coordinate the staging areas for the fire apparatuses and other vehicles that will participate in the service. For a traditional service at a church, this may include three different areas: one at the funeral home, one at the church, and then finally at the cemetery. Many times, in the services for fire service personnel, the procession will pass by the deceased’s home, their home fire station, or other locations. The procession officer will plan for and coordinate the passing of any of these locations that have been requested by the family. An additional honor often utilized in the procession of a fire service funeral is the crossed aerial ladders from which an American flag hangs. This is another area that the officer will coordinate to ensure everything is properly set up for the procession. The protocol normally used in the procession for a Line of Duty Death in the fire service is as follows: lead car (funeral home, law enforcement, or fire service), flower caisson or vehicle, hearse or fire engine caisson, immediate family, pallbearers or honor guard, fire chief’s car, other department vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, dignitaries, visiting vehicles and apparatuses, municipal vehicles, and personal vehicles (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The service officer is primarily tasked with the coordination of the service in the church or other place of service. This officer will act as the liaison to the church and the other officers coordinating elements of the service that will involve the church. This will include staging for the procession, seating for family and other groups, musicians, and all other parts of the service that is being planned (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The cemetery officer is responsible for the coordination of all the services and events that will take place at the cemetery. This will include arranging for and overseeing all the elements of the service, from the time the vehicles enter the cemetery until the services are concluded and everyone in attendance leaves the cemetery. Some of the elements included are the honor guard, committal service, “Taps,” bagpipers, and/or drummers (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The transportation officer arranges for the transportation needs of out-of-town or visiting guests. This will include ensuring transportation from airports and hotel arrangements. There may also be a need for transportation arrangements for dignitaries that will be in attendance of the services (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). At the request of the family and with the permission of the department, many members of the fire service will be
transported atop a fire apparatus or fire truck. When used in this manner, the apparatus is known as a “fire engine caisson.” Typically used as a caisson is a pumper engine that has had the fire hose removed from the deck. The deck where the casket will be placed is considerably higher than the deck of a funeral coach, therefore requiring some planning and preparation. This presents a challenge when considering the weight of the casket combined with the weight of the deceased. Placing the casket upon the deck of the apparatus can be a difficult task to accomplish for an honor guard that has never done so or been trained to do so. However, this can be accomplished in a smooth and respectful manner when all involved are properly prepared and trained (Federation of Fire Chaplains, 2004). The casket will likely be draped with an American flag or a fire service flag. The flag must be well secured so it does not come off of the casket. The most common method for this is by a stretch band made for this purpose. If a band such as this is not available, a black ribbon or something of this nature can be used in its place. Regardless of what is used, the flag must be secured to keep it from flying off the casket during the procession. If there is absolutely any chance of inclement weather conditions, the flag must be protected. The casket and flag can be covered with plastic sheeting sufficiently thick to protect it from the weather. When this method is observed, the ability of the pallbearers to safely handle the casket must be considered. An alternative option is for the flag to be placed on the casket after arriving to the place of the service. With this option, the casket should still be protected from the elements while exposed to the elements during the procession. The procession of the casket atop the apparatus may be from the funeral home to the place of the service, from the service to the place of final disposition, or both. The truck that will transport the casket will need to be parked with ample room to the rear for risers to be properly staged. These risers are normally three pairs of platforms at differing heights. The platforms will be placed at the rear of the apparatus in a stair-step fashion with the tallest risers closest to the truck. This allows the pallbearers to pass the casket to other members of the honor guard that are positioned on the risers. The casket should remain as level as possible as it is raised to each height of the risers before being placed atop the apparatus. Upon placement atop the apparatus, the casket should be sufficiently secured in place. Many fire departments who are prepared and have done this in the past will have a sort of casket table built or bought for the purpose. Should a department not have a device for this purpose, a portable casket table from a funeral home can work when properly secured. When a department experiences a death in the department, the pumper that will be used as a caisson will be removed from service in order to be prepared for the funeral services. In the time leading up to the service, the truck will be cleaned and polished for the service. As previously mentioned, it is a good practice for the honor guard or pallbearers who will be placing the casket onto the caisson to have a similar casket with which to practice. If a similar casket cannot be provided, any casket can be used with an approximate amount of weight to represent that of the deceased added to the casket. A tradition that has been practiced for over two hundred years at firefighter funerals is the bell ceremony or “The Ringing of the Bell.” This ceremony is normally conducted after the Fireman’s prayer is read and is the final ceremony in a Line of Duty Death funeral service. The ringing of the bell symbolically announces that the comrade has come home for the final time. While wearing white gloves, a
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