THREE FORKS — Fire departments from across the state sent representatives to attend the funeral Thursday of the Three Forks fire chief who was killed in a highway collision.
A procession of 114 fire and emergency vehicles passed under a giant American flag hung from two ladder trucks as it made its way to the Three Forks High School gymnasium for the service for Todd Rummel, KFBB-TV reported.
Residents lined the streets, and more than 300 public safety officials stood shoulder to shoulder to guide Rummel’s family into the service.
Rummel died last Thursday when his fire truck collided with a pickup truck carrying a family of five from Townsend on U.S. Highway 12. There were no survivors.
The funerals for Matthew Boegli, Crystal Ross and their three young children are scheduled for Thursday in Helena.
State flags flew at half-staff in honor of the victims of the crash, the cause of which is still under investigation.
Rummel, 44, became chief in May after eight years with the volunteer department in the town of about 2,000. The Pennsylvania native had been a firefighter since he was 18, and he moved to Montana in 2006 to fulfill a lifelong dream.
Rummel was well-known in the community, neighbor Bill Kelley said.
“I don’t know how he could meet everybody, but there’s nobody out there that he didn’t know,” Kelley said.
The town last turned out for a funeral in the Three Forks High School gymnasium in 2010 for Three Forks native David Delaittre, a 23-year-old Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was shot during a traffic stop just outside of town.
The town is still feeling the effects of Delaittre’s death, firefighter Brad Eastty said. A memorial park with a highway patrol vehicle on a pedestal is a continuing reminder.
Rummel’s death has only compounded that sense of loss, Eastty said. “This community has had some rough hits,” he said.