Detroit firefighter dies battling blaze

DETROIT - A veteran firefighter described as a "gentle giant" by a friend and colleague died early Saturday after the roof of a charred vacant house collapsed on him.

A Detroit Fire Department official said Walter Harris, 37, helped to put out the house fire on the city's east side and was extinguishing hot spots in the two-story home's upper floor when the structure fell on him and several others. He was pronounced
dead at a nearby hospital.

City officials said in a release Saturday that four firefighters were injured. One had been released from the hospital, and the other three others were being treated for their injuries.

Department spokeswoman Katrina Butler said the injuries weren't life-threatening.

"One of the firefighters said he heard a crackling noise and that's when the dwelling collapsed on the firefighters," she said.
"A couple dug themselves out, some crawled out. That's when they noticed Harris missing."

Investigators spent Saturday trying to determine the cause and origin of the blaze.

Harris, a Sterling Heights resident and a 17-year member of the department, was a married father of six. One son, James, also is a Detroit firefighter.

"Walter was the most gentle giant you would ever be honored to be introduced to," said Craig Binder, a department sergeant who graduated from high school and attended the fire academy with Harris. The two spent time together off-duty, sharing a passion for
running.

"If two (people) got into some sort of ... squabble, he'd always be the one to step in and make everything right," Binder said. "He had this amazing capacity of communicating with
everybody. It didn't matter if you were male or female, black or white."

Binder wasn't fighting the fire but afterward drove by the scene. He was struck by the toll it took hours before.

"It looked like one of our normal, routine fires," he said.

Abandoned homes and buildings long have been a concern for Detroit firefighters. Each year around Halloween, thousands of volunteers join police, firefighters and city workers in patrolling neighborhoods during what's been dubbed "Angels' Night."

There were 136 fires reported between Oct. 29-31 this year, compared with 142 during the same period last year. At its peak in 1984, 810 fires were reported in Detroit during those three days, fueled in part by the notoriety what then was known as "Devil's
Night" and the city's large number of abandoned buildings.

"Our men and women who fight fires and respond to emergencies every day in this city risk their lives to help others," Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. said in a statement.

"Walter Harris risked his life and gave his life to extinguish a fire and protect the men and women of his fire company," the statement said. "My thoughts and prayers are with Walter Harris' family and to the men and women of the Detroit Fire Department. I
encourage everyone's prayers for hope and healing for the city and for those whose job it is to protect us."