By John Irwin
Hundreds of firefighters dressed in uniform from throughout the state lined the sidewalks surrounding Divine Child Catholic Church in Dearborn Monday for the funeral of fallen Wayne-Westland firefighter Brian Woehlke.
Woehlke, 29, was killed Wednesday while battling a large blaze at a strip mall in Westland on N. Wayne Road. The roof of the Electric Stick billiards hall collapsed, taking his life and destroying the building.
He had been on the job only 10 months.
Woehlke’s coffin, wrapped in an American flag, was carried in a recently refurbished 1937 antique fire truck that led a large procession from the Harry J. Will Funeral Home on Michigan Ave. in Wayne to the church that was so packed, some folks had to stand outside. Woehlke’s wife Jennifer and 13-month-old daughter Ava were in attendance.
Firefighters surrounded the exterior of the church, three rows deep. A large U.S. flag flew high above the ground from the ladder of a yellow fire truck just beside them.
Brian Alfred Woehlke
July 27, 1983 - May 8, 2013
Dearborn Battalion Chief Kevin Boyer, one of those firefighters lined up outside the church, said he was particularly impressed by the attendance. “It’s a brotherhood. People make jokes about that, but it’s true,” Boyer said. “We may not know each other, but we know of each other.”
Jack Callahan watched the proceedings outside the church. He has a son and two grandsons who work as firefighters, one of whom works in the Wayne-Westland Fire Department.
“I was playing golf with my grandson when he got the call about the fire,” Callahan said. “You’re just praying that since there were so many firefighters down there, he just got lost in the crowd.”
White Lake Township Fire Chief Tony Maltese called the funeral a “tribute to the profession.”
“Now, there’s a lot of talk about the pensions police and firefighters get,” he said. “Well, this is the reason they get them.”
Maltese said he feels for the firefighters in the Wayne-Westland Fire Department and said he cannot fathom what many of them must be feeling.
“You become so close to these guys, there’s nothing you don’t know about them,” he said. “It’s a sick feeling you get.”
Gov. Rick Snyder ordered flags at state buildings at half-staff in honor of Woehlke.
