A vigil was held Thursday night at Hope’s Fire Station Number Two for Tristan Johnson, a firefighter whose death was announced today.
Several dozen of Johnson’s fellow first-responders and many citizens took up candles at about 8:30 p.m. in the yard of the firehouse to honor Johnson. Pictures of Johnson were on display next to two wreaths and Johnson's protective suit. Speaking at the ceremony were Hope Mayor Don Still, Fire Chief Todd Martin, Assistant City Manager Daniel Shelman and First Baptist Church Pastor David Bramlett.
Martin said before the ceremony he had been looking back at text exchanges he had had with Johnson. “Every time I would text him or even talk to him, he always was ‘Yes or No sir.’ Every time I talked to him, he was always polite, always well mannered. We never had to worry about Tristan. He always conducted himself in the right way. And we’re going to miss him very, very much.”
Continuing, Martin said, “To his family, I want you all to know we treasured our time with him. We will remember him for all the good things he did for Hope Fire Department. He served his community well. Anytime we needed an extra hand to step up and work, Tristan was right there. He never shied away, never backed up from anything.”
Mayor Still next spoke. “The city of Hope’s hearts are hurting today. I know the fire department. They're like brothers. I know their hearts hurt. We appreciate everything that they do and that Tristan did for the city, but there's just not many words to say. We're just sad today, and I just appreciate everybody coming out … The next few days will be tough on everybody, so let's keep everybody in our prayers, and we'll be thinking about you. Anything you need, the city's ready to help.”
Shelman said, “Like Don said, there's not a lot of words to say. I got a phone call that nobody wants to get this morning. And from our position and our staff here, we extend our deepest concerns and condolences to all the family, the Hope Fire Department, the community … I appreciate all of our first responders, all of our firefighters and our police and everybody that goes to work every day that faces the challenges that our first responders see every day. It can't be overstated how much we need you, and we appreciate you. This this man will be missed in our community, and his memory will live on.”
Pastor Bramlett then said, “We want to pray tonight, not because prayers are magical, but because they're hopeful, because we believe that one light doesn't have a lot of ability all by itself. But you can see when we come together, there's a lot of light. Jesus represents so much more than what we can do all by ourselves. So when we pray, we're asking and we're agreeing together that God would bring hope, that God would bring peace, and he would settle our hearts.”
After saying a prayer, he introduced Arnetta Bradford who sang “Come, Jesus, Come”
Mayor Still closed the ceremony, saying, “Keep the family in your prayers, keep our city in your prayers and let’s hope for a better day.”
