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Firefighters stand watch over body of 8-year-old hero in Penfield, NY

Jan 28, 2014

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Click here for coverage of Tyler Doohan’s funeral

On Monday, relatives, friends, strangers and firefighters all gathered at a funeral home in Webster, New York to pay their respects to Tyler Doohan, his uncle Steve Smith and Lewis Beach (described in various news accounts as his grandfather or step-great-grandfather).

Fire investigators told DemocratandChronicle.com the 8-year-old boy alerted his family to the fire in their single-wide trailer a week ago and then went back inside to help his disabled Uncle Steve escape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei-LWr6MLuA

The Penfield Volunteer Fire Department and neighboring departments kept an honor guard by the casket during the wake and will pay tribute to the heroic boy again during Wednesday’s funeral.

Neeti Upadhye & Gary McLendon, DemocratandChronicle.com:

Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer said Tyler “displayed extreme courage, valor and heroism. We hope that the community and the world will see that Tyler — at eight years of age — could display that.”

During the evening wake more than 100 uniformed firefighters honored the family with a walk-through. Firefighters from all over the county gave their condolences.

Ebmeyer also has special plans for Tyler at the funeral services, which will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. John of Rochester Church in Perinton. He said a full line up of more than 100 firefighters from multiple departments will stand at attention while friends and family enter the church. At the end of the service, Ebmeyer will bestow Tyler with the title of honorary firefighter and present the family with a helmet.