March 20--In the back of their fire truck, Senior Capt. Thomas William "Bill" Dillion would sing country songs to entertain his crew from fire station 69, playfully inserting their names into the verses.
Then he would ask, "Are you happy now?" said the crew's engineer operator Glen Miller, reminiscing. "When I said yes, he'd smile and say, 'Then I'm happy as well.'"
Several hundred firefighters and family members gathered Monday morning at the Second Baptist Church West Campus to remember the life of Dillion, 49, who died in the line of duty last week.
Members of the Houston Fire Department recalled the father of three as a bright and motivated man, someone who loved serving others -- both on and off the job.
"If he saw a need, and he had the wherewithal to meet that need, he would, even at sacrifice to himself," said friend and pastor Wayne Martin of Bridge Point Bible Church.
A 22-year veteran of HFD, Dillion was the 64th firefighter to die in the line of duty.
He collapsed Wednesday morning while responding to a small cooking fire at an apartment complex in southwest Houston. After firefighters performed CPR on him, he was rushed to the West Houston Medical Center Hospital but pronounced dead within an hour. The cause of death was not directly related to the fire, officials said, but likely appeared to be cardiac arrest.
"He was a rock on the crew, and we all anchored ourselves to him," said Capt. Duane Jernigan, who worked under Dillion for more than five years.
He was a compassionate leader, Jernigan said, greatly concerned about every call. Though Jernigan joked that he often found his senior captain relaxing and playing video games at the station, as soon as a call came in, Dillion would race to answer the phone.
"On the fire ground, he had only one speed," said Miller, "and that was fast."
As bells tolled and bagpipes and drums played, men and women in uniform looked down solemnly, wiping tears from their eyes. Kneeling down, HFD Chief Terry Garrison retired Dillion's badge to his family.
"We are all sharing in the family's grief today," said Mayor Annise Parker, who spoke at the memorial service. "While he was part of one family, Bill Dillion was part of other families as well. He was a part of his station and his shift. He was a part of the family of firefighters, and he was part of the family of the city of Houston."
Copyright 2012 - Houston Chronicle
