A somber procession rolled through metro Atlanta to honor fallen DeKalb County Firefighter Preston Fant, whose colleagues turned out Wednesday morning with pageantry and patriotism to pay their respects.
Just after 9 a.m., the motorcade left Fire Station No. 24 on Redan Road in DeKalb, where Fant served for about 21 years. He died Monday after battling a warehouse blaze, a tragedy that marked the county’s first firefighter line-of-duty death.
A memorial of multicolored bouquets lay on a brick wall in front of the station’s sign, where a day earlier, members of the department hugged and lowered an American flag to half-staff.
Several DeKalb police motorcycles and SUVs helped lead the procession, which traveled to the medical examiner’s office before crossing several county lines. The group reached its final destination, the West Cobb Funeral Home in Marietta, by 11 a.m.
Along the way, Sandy Springs fire apparatus lined the I-285 bridges at Roswell Road, Mount Vernon, Riverside Drive, Raider Drive and Northside Drive, a spokesperson said. On the Northside Drive bridge, a fire truck and county vehicle waited for about a dozen official vehicles to pass on the interstate below.
At the end of the route in front of the funeral home, two Cobb County fire trucks used their outstretched ladders to display a massive American flag, which fluttered in the morning breeze as firefighters gathered to honor their fallen brother. Nearby, on the side of the road, a man held his own flag alongside a couple of families who came out to show their gratitude.
Credit: DeKalb County Fire Department
Credit: DeKalb County Fire Department
Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters donated to a GoFundMe page created to help Fant’s family with funeral expenses. The effort had raised more than $30,000 as of early afternoon Wednesday. Fant is survived by his wife and five children. Funeral details have not been announced.
“His passing leaves an immeasurable hole in the lives of his wife, Leigh, and their five children who adored him,” the page states. “During this heartbreaking time, we want to surround the Fant family with love and support.”
Fant was known to ride in the back of a huge DeKalb fire truck called “The Mule,” which was positioned behind the hovering flag near the funeral home for Wednesday’s procession.
As the motorcade drove by, with Fant’s body inside an ambulance, about a half dozen Cobb firefighters placed their protective hats on their hearts.
Officials have described Fant as a father figure to both former and current DeKalb firefighters.
The 53-year-old died Monday after he became trapped while trying to rescue a fellow firefighter as a film company warehouse burned around them on South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road.
Fant had been “overcome by fire conditions” as nearly three dozen fire crews worked the commercial structure fire at the warehouse that was home to Digital Thunderdome, an indie film production studio used for movies and music videos.
This year, Fant was the 58th firefighter to be killed in the line of duty in the U.S. and the first in Georgia, according to data from the U.S. Fire Administration.
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