Condolences pour in from around the country, and from the Royals, for fallen Kansas City firefighters
A city celebrating an improbable win in the afternoon for its hometown baseball team Monday found itself grieving just hours later after two Kansas City firefighters died in the line of duty.
The shock and sorrow was palpable on social media as the news spread. Twitter feeds filled with celebratory tweets about the Royals quickly turned somber.
Tributes continued on Tuesday once the names of the veteran firefighters who died - Larry J. Leggio and John V. Mesh - were revealed.
Downtown Courthouse flags at half-staff w/ additional flag for support for the fallen firefighters. #WeStandWithKCFD pic.twitter.com/L11ZSpRBVr
— Jackson County MO (@JacksonCountyMO) October 13, 2015Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer and the entire Royals organization paid their respects as well.
Prayers for @KCMOFireDept & the families of those firefighters lost & injured tonight. They are true heroes #KCFD pic.twitter.com/AWMLJmkmZj
— Eric Hosmer (@TheRealHos35) October 13, 2015#KC firefighters Larry Leggio & John Mesh made the ultimate sacrifice saving the lives of others. Mourning the loss of these brave #heroes
— Governor Jay Nixon (@GovJayNixon) October 13, 2015STL joins KC in mourning its brave firefighters. #fgs
— MayorSlay.com (@MayorSlay) October 13, 2015Heart heavy at loss of two KC firefighters,who were saving others in burning building that collapsed.We take their bravery for granted. #42
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) October 13, 2015Mayor Sly James used Twitter to remind Kansas Citians that the city’s “firefighters put their put their lives on the line for all of us every day.”
Statement on tonight's tragic loss of @KCMOFireDept firefighters: pic.twitter.com/qYnv8DrHkO
— Mayor Sly James (@MayorSlyJames) October 13, 2015Condolences Monday night came from all corners - other fire departments, other municipalities, elected officials, ordinary people.
The City of Kansas City’s social media manager, Mark Van Baale, asked his Twitter followers on Tuesday to “take time out of talking #Royals and think about the 2 KCMO firefighters who lost their lives last night. #WeStandWithKCFD.”
Our thoughts are w/ our neighbors @KCMOFireDept and the families of those firefighters killed and injured tonight. https://t.co/kcRXjnm9Rr
— KS Highway Patrol (@kshighwaypatrol) October 13, 2015We mourn with our friends at the @KCMOFireDept and the families of the firefighters who died this evening. Brave. Heroes.
— Jackson County MO (@JacksonCountyMO) October 13, 2015Our thoughts and prayers are with the @KCMOFireDept and the families of Firefighters that lost their lives and were injured tonight.
— Southern Platte Fire (@SPFPD) October 13, 2015Thoughts and prayers to #KCFD and the #Firefighters hurt in tonight's #fire and #collapse
— Greensboro's Bravest (@PFFG947) October 13, 2015Tonight, let us bow our heads in remembrance. #KCFD pic.twitter.com/GGBklqtuVi
— Shawn Rhino Wheat (@RhinoRadioShow) October 13, 2015Man, my heart is heavy. Especially for the "brothers" of the #KCFD firefighters who died. Many of them may still be fighting that fire.
— Mark Van Baale (@markvanbaale) October 13, 2015More than 60 American firefighters have lost their lives so far in 2015 according to the U.S. Fire Adminstration, including two in Missouri and three in Kansas.
In ceremonies a few days ago at the 34th Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Maryland, President Obama paid homage to firefighters who have given their lives this year “serving their neighbors, their communities, our nation with courage, and fortitude and strength.
“We can never repay them fully for their service.”
Obama commended firefighters for their willingness to “leave their homes and their families so they might save the lives of people that they’ve never met.”
“It’s hard to think of a more selfless profession than firefighting,” the president said.
“There’s a reason why firefighting occupies a special place in our imaginations; why little boys and increasingly little girls say, I want to be a fireman, I want to be a firefighter. They understand instinctually that there’s something special about it.”
Lisa Gutierrez, @LisaGinKC, lgutierrez@kcstar.com, 816-234-4987
This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Condolences pour in from around the country, and from the Royals, for fallen Kansas City firefighters."