Saying goodbye to Firefighter Walter P. Harris

With a fire rig draped in black waiting outside, thousands packed into Second Ebenezer Church on Friday to salute fallen Detroit firefighter Walter Harris.

“What is a firefighter?” the Rev. Allen McNeeley, a chaplain for the Detroit Fire Department asked the congregation. “A firefighter is the young woman or man from next door. He’s a man’s man and a woman’s woman, who never got over the excitement of fire and smoke and danger. They are persons who save a life because they have seen too much death.

“They appreciate a child’s laughter because they’ve held the bodies of children who will never breathe again.”

Hundreds of firefighters from all across the Midwest and Canada lined up, four deep, to enter the church’s sanctuary and bid farewell to Harris.

Shortly before the funeral, traffic backed up on I-75 at McNichols and mourners parked blocks away to get a seat inside the church.

The sanctuary holds 3,200 people and was packed, with people standing against the walls. Harris belonged to a smaller church, Community Christian Fellowship, where he was an ordained minister.

Harris, 38, of Sterling Heights died Saturday when a roof collapsed on him while fighting a fire at an abandoned home on Detroit’s east side. The father of six was a 17-year veteran of the department and spent his career at the station on East Grand Boulevard that houses Rescue Squad 3 and Engine Co. 23.

Harris’ son, James Hill-Harris, also a Detroit firefighter, brought the church to tears as he spoke of the lessons learned from his dad.

“Our father is still teaching us,” he said. “Now he’s teaching us: ‘Tomorrow is not promised to you, son. Today might be your last. Make sure your wife and children know you love and cherish them. Kiss your wife on the lips — that may be your last kiss. Live your life like you may only get 38 years. Because that’s all I had, son.’ “

James Hill-Harris is greeted during services for his father, Detroit firefighter Walter Harris, at Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit on Friday. Hill-Harris, also a firefighter, brought the church to tears as he spoke of the lessons learned from his dad.

The service offered upbeat moments as friends and family spoke of Harris’ love of motorcycles, cooking and the ministry. But the scene turned somber as Harris’ loved ones spoke of how much they miss him.

One man sat on the floor at the back of the church, sobbing uncontrollably, with his head in his hands.

Fellow firefighter Jim Montgomery looked at Harris’ wife, Syri, whom Harris met in elementary school, and relayed a message of love.

“Please know that he tenderly spoke of you on a daily basis,” Montgomery said, as he paused and choked back tears.

Montgomery shared a recent, happy memory that he spent with Harris after Barack Obama won the presidential election.

The rule, he said, is that firefighters don’t talk politics. But Montgomery knew that Harris was thrilled with Obama’s win. He drove to Harris’ house to congratulate him.