By FireRescue1 Staff
DETROIT — Firefighters participating in a stair climb honored and paid tribute to one of their own who died unexpectedly over the weekend.
Volunteer firefighter Ron Savage, 63, suffered a cardiac event while training Saturday; his untimely death spurred an outpouring of community support.
Savage was scheduled to complete a 71-story stair climb with his brothers Sunday to raise funds for the American Lung Association.
Prior to beginning the climb, firefighters held a moment of silence in Savage’s honor. Brighton Fire Chief Matt Smith said Savage would be motivation for him and crews while completing the climb. Chief Smith wore Savage’s bibb, which was also recorded in the climb.
“We all kind of dug a little deeper and we realized we finished it just like Ron did in years past with us,” Chief Smith told FOX47.
Savage was well-known throughout the community, and organizers of the stair climb noted his absence.
“It’s a really rough one this year,” organizer Jessie Jimenez-Schlicht said. “He was always so eager and honored to help even if he couldn’t physically climb because of his other day job duties, he’d still come out in his full gear.”
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