Texas Firefighter Struck, Killed at On Duty

FANNETT - A volunteer firefighter was killed on Interstate 10 early Tuesday when he was hit by an 18-wheeler as he crossed the highway to respond to another accident.

But those close to him said that he was doing what loved: helping people as a firefighter.

Charles Lance Mathew, 20, of LaBelle, is the first firefighter killed in the line of duty since the LaBelle-Fannett Volunteer Fire Department was created more than 40 years ago. His death comes just weeks after he was promoted to lieutenant.

Mathew was responding to a minor accident at 3 a.m. on I-10 eastbound at mile marker 834, about 13 miles west of Beaumont city limits, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said.

Mathew parked his vehicle on the westbound side of the interstate. He was hit by the eastbound 18-wheeler after he walked through the median, the spokeswoman said.

Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Ray Chesson pronounced Mathew dead at the scene.

Mathew was a 2000 graduate of Hampshire-Fannett High School. He had been volunteering with the 15-member LaBelle-Fannett Volunteer Fire Department for about two years, said Beverly Mathews, his aunt.

"(Firefighting) was his passion. He lived and breathed it," Beverly Mathews said.

She said her nephew fished in his spare time and thrived on being a firefighter.

"He was a very happy young man," she said. "He loved life."

Mathew was single and worked at Industrial Anchors as a laborer.

The situation that Mathew responded to is not unusual, said Tommy May, spokesman for the Professional Firefighters Local 399 and a Beaumont Fire and Rescue captain.

"This was a very tragic situation," May said. "Firefighters respond to auto accidents quite often."

As the first people on the scene, May said firefighters often must deal with traffic and other hazards.

"Every one of us knows how hazardous this is," May said. "We see many times that motorists do not slow down."

Crossing the median to reach an accident is not uncommon, May said.

"When you lose a member, it is a tragic time," May said.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Broussard's Funeral Home in Beaumont.

Funeral To Be Held:
1:00pm- Friday, March 21, 2003
Cemetery Service To Be Held Immediately Following Funeral