END OF WATCH: Community honors fallen firefighters

LYNN TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Hundreds of mourners and first responders gathered at Northwestern Lehigh Middle School on Saturday to pay their final respects to two of their own.

• Assistant Fire Chief Zachary Paris, 36, and Firefighter Marvin Gruber, 59, both of the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli, died Dec. 7 battling a house fire in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County
• Hundreds of mourners and first responders gathered at Northwestern Lehigh Middle School on Saturday to pay their final respects to the two firefighters
• Firefighters wearing dress uniforms with black armbands gathered from across the Mid-Atlantic to fully honor the two

Assistant Fire Chief Zachary Paris, 36, and Firefighter Marvin Gruber, 59, both of the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli, died Dec. 7 battling a house fire in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County.

The two experienced firefighters fully knew the risks when they rushed into the dwelling, colleagues said.

"Both of these heroes have made our department and their families proud,” Gary Kuntz Jr., chief of the New Tripoli fire company, said in his eulogy. “These men did what they are trained to do – what we are known for: Get off the engine and go to work.

“Now we will pick up the pieces and move forward and do as Zach and Marvin would want us to do.”

“I want them to be remembered as heroes.”

Bill McQuilken, president of the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli

“I want them to be remembered as heroes,” said Bill McQuilken, the fire company president. “There are a lot of people in our community who are certainly going to miss them and that extends beyond our district as well.”

Firefighters wearing dress uniforms with black armbands gathered from across the Mid-Atlantic to fully honor the two. Hundreds filed past Gruber’s and Paris’ flag-draped coffins in the school auditorium as their fire gear rested on the stage. An honor guard and a full pipe-and-drum corps brought the funeral service to its beginning and close.

An emotional Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong, the son of a fire chief, presented the families with a proclamation from the county honoring the men’s service.

“There are no words that can be said by anybody here today that can justify the pain – that can make this go away. We do stand here in reverence today to say how much it means to us that they did answer the call,” he said.

The two men dedicated their lives to public service.

Paris, who leaves behind his wife Elizabeth and two young daughters, recently graduated from the fire academy of the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services in Maryland. About 80 personnel from the division made the two-and-a-half-hour drive to honor him, said Michael Knight, a lieutenant of the division and Paris’ supervisor.

Dillon Eyler, who graduated in Paris’ class, said it was Paris’ dream to become a professional firefighter. It takes a special type of person to rush into a burning building for a living, he said, but Paris was away from his young family for six months to get that opportunity.

"I never questioned Paris' dedication. It was above and beyond."

Dillon Eyler, firefighter

"I never questioned Paris' dedication. It was above and beyond," Eyler said.

An entourage led by a uniformed firefighter escorted Paris' mother through the crowd a little while after the public viewing closed and the private viewing began.

Gruber, a lifelong New Tripoli resident, leaves behind two adult children, three grandchildren and his wife of 35 years, Karen. He served as the assistant chief of public safety at Northampton Community College and was remembered for his unmatched work ethic.

Kuntz described him as quiet but fearless. If something at the station wasn’t quite up to snuff, Gruber would assure Kuntz the crew would “church it up.”

“I sure hope, Marvin, we did a good job of churching this up here today,” Kuntz said. Marvin’s son Nick is Community Fire Company’s deputy fire chief.

Donald Christ, a 60-year veteran of the New Tripoli fire company, remembered Paris and Gruber as leaders. No tragedy during his service with the fire company could compare to losing the two.

"New Tripoli always follows a rule: Everybody comes home. It didn't happen this time," he said, choking up.

Donald Christ, a 60-year veteran of the New Tripoli fire company

"New Tripoli always follows a rule: Everybody comes home. It didn't happen this time," he said, choking up.

Gruber and Paris were among more than 100 volunteers who responded to a three-alarm house fire that consumed a home in West Penn Township on Dec. 7. They were eventually pulled from the burning building.

Gruber was pronounced dead at 5:36 p.m. Dec. 7 at St. Luke's Hospital, Miner's Campus in Coaldale; Paris was pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m. at the same hospital, according to the Lehigh County coroner’s office. Both died from asphyxia and thermal injuries, according to the coroner, and an investigation is continuing to determine the manner of their deaths.

Another man, Christopher Kammerdiener, 35, was found dead outside the house — he was one of the residents — of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to published reports.

Authorities have labeled the fire suspicious.

On Dec. 8, community members responded with an outpouring of support and respect for Paris and Gruber as a miles-long procession of first responders accompanied their bodies from Schuylkill County to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office in South Whitehall Township.

Kat Dickey, Julian Abraham, and Mariella Miller contributed to this report.