[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19862]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     HONORING CAPTAIN JAY P. JAHNKE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bentsen) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a brave Houston 
firefighter who lost his life this weekend while battling a fire in a 
Houston high-rise condominium. Like firefighters in New York and 
Northern Virginia, who willingly put their lives on the line on 
September 11, 2001, Captain Jay P. Jahnke of the Houston Fire 
Department died this weekend while living his lifelong dream of 
becoming a firefighter. He entered a blazing building to do his job, 
regardless of personal risk and as firefighters always do.
  Captain Jahnke led the first team to arrive on the scene of an early 
morning fire this past Saturday in West Houston. The burning 40-story 
condominium complex houses hundreds of individuals. His courageous and 
valiant efforts, for which he gave his life, saved many lives of people 
he never even knew.
  Captain Jahnke leaves behind a legacy of valor and unyielding 
commitment to the common good. My thoughts and prayers are with Captain 
Jahnke's family; his wife, Dawn; his 11-year-old daughter, Jayne; his 
8-year-old son Hunter; his mother, Katherine; brother, Jeff; and 
sisters, Karen and Mary Ann. I offer my sincere condolences to his more 
than 3,200 brothers and sisters in the Houston Fire Department, 
especially those at Fire Station No. 2.
  The Jahnke family has deep roots and a proud tradition in the Houston 
Fire Department. Captain Jahnke's father, Claude, was a district fire 
chief, and he is related to more than a dozen current firefighters. 
Every day at Houston's 87 fire stations and at fire stations across the 
Nation, thousands of men and women shelve fear and self-interest to 
form our front line of homeland defense. They enter blazing buildings 
and risk their lives to save strangers.
  Captain Jay Jahnke's selflessness, compassion, and concern for others 
is yet another example of how firefighters, police, and other rescue 
personnel show us how good people can be. We are in his debt and that 
of firefighters throughout the land.

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