Captain

Fallen Firefighter Remembered for Resilience, Promoted to Lieutenant

It was a somber scene as uniformed fireman, police officers, friends and family paid their final respects to Joyce Craig, the first female Philadelphia firefighter to die in the line of duty.

Hundreds arrived at the Batchelor Brothers Funeral Home on North Broad Street early Saturday where a second viewing -- the first was Friday night -- and funeral for 36-year-old Joyce Craig was held.

During the service, Craig was remembered fondly as an advocate for her comrades who also held them to the same high level of performance she embodied.

Mayor Michael Michael Nutter, fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer and others spoke of her strong work ethic, resilience and leadership.

The mother of two died Tuesday after becoming trapped in the basement of a West Oak Lane home where an elderly woman was later rescued.

Nutter says the 11-year veteran will be posthumously promoted to lieutenant. The announcement drew applause inside the packed funeral home and from hundreds of firefighters watching on a large screen outside.

Following the service, Craig's casket was carried out by firefighters and placed on a fire truck from her department as most of Philadelphia's finest lined up for the three-mile procession to Ivy Hill Cemetery where the fallen hero was laid to rest.

Broad Street from 69th the Cheltenham avenues was closed to all but local traffic during the procession, as residents saluted Craig on her way down Cheltenham Avenue to Wadsworth Avenue onto Easton Road to Ivy Hill Cemetery.

“She was a firefighter’s firefighter," her boss, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer, said Tuesday. “She had a strong work ethic. She prided herself in working at busy engine companies," he said..

The fire union said donations can be made payable to the "Local 22 Joyce Craig-Lewis Memorial Fund" and mailed to 901 Arch St., Philadelphia, 19107. It said all money raised will go directly to support her children, 16-month-old Laylani Lewis and 16-year-old Mehki Donte Green.

More than 40 Philadelphia firefighters have been killed in the line of duty since 1943, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. The last, Capt. Michael Goodwin, died April 6, 2013, in a roof collapse while battling a fire in the city's Queen Village section.

Women account for relatively few firefighter deaths nationally — 29 of the 1,059 on-duty deaths recorded by the U.S. Fire Administration between 2003 and 2012 — in part because they are still vastly outnumbered by men on department rosters.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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