[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 131 (Friday, September 11, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5971-H5972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS

  (Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of

[[Page H5972]]

three brave firefighters--Tom Zbyszewski, Andrew Zajac, and Richard 
Wheeler--who were killed after their vehicle crashed near Twisp, 
Washington, leaving the men in the path of a raging fire.
  Washington State has faced record forest fires this season. Nearly a 
million acres have burned. There has been a lot of loss, including the 
lives of these three men.
  Tom, the youngest, at 20 years old, was a rising junior at Whitman 
College, who followed in his parents' footsteps and accepted the call 
to fight fires during the summer. How he and his colleagues died is 
really a testament to the type of men that they were--brave and 
generous, fiercely dedicated to protecting their home, and willing to 
put their lives at risk to protect it.
  My prayers continue to be with their families and all those who have 
been impacted by these fires. We are eternally grateful for these young 
men and their service to our beloved State.
  You are our heroes. Rest in peace.

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