PORTSMOUTH - As a firefighter, Newington Lt. Christopher DeWolf was "strong like an ox" - once, he picked up and moved a clothes dryer on his own to help someone to safety. But, blessed with "gentleness," he could always lighten the most dire of situations.
His death Thursday from a single-car accident on an icy stretch of Interstate 95 was mourned by firefighters across the Seacoast, who, in the wake of the accident, gathered at the Newington fire station, where DeWolf, 41, had worked for just six months after 17 years with the Dover department.
The accident was ruled a "line-of-duty" fatality since DeWolf was driving to work from his home in Kittery, Maine, in advance of his normal shift in order to cover the station while colleagues investigated a smoke-odor call on Woodbury Avenue. Extra manpower is called in when extreme weather conditions may result in an increase in calls.
Portsmouth firefighters arrived at the accident scene, near the Woodbury Avenue exit, shortly before 8 a.m. Authorities said DeWolf
