(New Brunswick-WABC, September 8, 2004) -- They said goodbye to a hero today. Deputy Fire Chief James D'Heron, 51, and veteran firefighter died on Friday.
He was the first on the scene at a house fire in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He rushed in without equipment, and because of him all 15 residents made it out. But D'Heron did not.
And they buried him today.
Here's Jeff Rossen.
Firefighter: "When a person makes that sort of decision, to put other people's lives in front of their own, in front of their own families, their own children. But he made a decision under fire, and we're here to support him."
D'Heron died for 15 complete strangers. He was a deputy chief in the New Brunswick Fire Department. And it was in his blood.
From across the state on Friday they came, the only people who could fathom this sacrifice -- fellow firefighters.
Last Friday as a house was blazing, D'Heron arrived first, by himself. There was no time to put on the protective gear, so he rushed inside unprotected, screaming and banging doors to get everyone out.
It worked, and 13 adults and two children all escaped because of D'Heron. But the man who saved them did not.
Fred Fretz, Union County Fire Chief: "At most jobs, the most dangerous thing is the drive to work. Our job, it's after we get there."
Over his 24-year-career, D'Heron has saved others. One woman was attending the funeral because D'Heron had rescued her father.
Mourner: "He took that man out of that room, and carried him down them steps outside. There's no way I would have missed this. No way."
That hero firefighter who saved so many leaves behind a family of his home, his wife, and three grown children.
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