Firefighters train for honor guard: "This takes brotherhood to a whole new extreme"

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- When there's an emergency, all we have to do is call 911. When the rescuers are the ones in need, they turn to each other. Some firefighters do that by volunteering for the honor guard.

On Friday, about 40 firefighters from all over the country, and even one from Canada, were at the Milwaukee Fire Academy to train to be a part of their cities’ firefighter honor guard.

“Honestly if we don't practice these skills, we forget about it. It's muscle memory,” said Adam Dorn, a firefighter with the City of Fitchburg Fire Department. Dorn has been to this clinic 8 out its 10 years.

"We talk a lot about brotherhood in the fire service, but this takes brotherhood to a whole new extreme,” said Dorn.

Milwaukee is one of the few cities in the Midwest to offer a class like this, so the men and women came from all over the country to the 3 day long clinic. In fact, this is the first time this class has gone international, with a firefighter from Canada.

“We're all here for the same purpose, but each area has their own little twist on things,” explained Dorn.

They train in things like marching, presenting the colors, and participating in the funerals of those who die on the job.

“Taking  care of our own is about more than just taking care of our firefighters, it means taking care of their families,” said Lt. Brent Jones with the Milwaukee Fire Department and Lead Instructor of the Honor Guard Clinic.

That responsibility to the families makes it even more important to get the skills down.

“They left the house that morning and now someone knocked on their door and said 'I'm sorry your loved ones dead they're not coming home'. Now we're there to bridge that gap between their loved ones lives as a firefighter and their funeral,” said Jones.

“You’re there to support them, comfort them, be their shoulder to cry on, and be their support to hold them up,” said Dorn.

Close to 40 firefighters participated in this year's course. The whole class will present the flags for the National Anthem before Friday night's Brewers Game.