[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1171]]



    IN MEMORY OF FIREFIGHTER LOUIS MATTHEWS, ENGINE COMPANY NO. 26, 
                            NATION'S CAPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 1999

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, the brief and fruitful life of Louis 
Matthews surely gives us an appreciation for what firefighters face and 
what we have lost. Seven years in the Department, only 29 years old, 
Firefighter Matthews spent his entire short but productive, adult life 
serving the people of the nation's capital, and finally gave his life 
for them.
  Firefighters are known to be a breed apart and to have their own 
culture. That culture has developed from the fact that they are like no 
other civil servants. Not only do firefighters work together, they live 
together, and they await the possibility of injury or death together.
  Two died in this fire, and two were seriously injured. One of the 
injured, Charles Redding, lived to attend both funerals. Joseph Morgan 
is very seriously injured and still in the hospital. Anthony Phillips 
was killed in the fire. Yes, they live and die together. Firefighters 
are very much like soldiers in a battalion ready and waiting for the 
next battle.
  I know something of their culture. I am a proud member of a 
firefighter family. My grandfather, Lt. Richard Holmes, became a 
District of Columbia firefighter in 1902. I am still approached in the 
streets by people who remember him--he lived to be 96. I give some 
credit to the Fire Department for his physical and mental fitness and 
for the fact that he played a cutting game of badminton with his 
grandchildren in his 80's and 90's. And, I am grateful to the 
Department for giving me a picture of my grandfather standing in 
uniform as a part of Engine Company No. 4. As I have my memories of my 
grandfather, Firefighter Matthews family will cherish theirs.

                          ____________________