Funeral for fallen DeKalb firefighter to bring mourners to Truist Park
Metro Atlanta’s firefighters and the community will come together Thursday for a memorial service at Truist Park to honor a longtime DeKalb firefighter — the county’s first to die in the line of duty.
Master Firefighter Preston Fant, 53, died Sept. 8 after battling a fire at a film company warehouse. He became trapped in the blaze while trying to rescue another firefighter, officials said.
The 21-year firefighting veteran will lie in repose at the stadium starting at 1 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. memorial service.
The ceremony will include a radio call-out and fading sirens, bagpipes, the presentation of medals and the firefighter memorial flag, the last alarm and bell ceremony, and a helicopter flyover, according to DeKalb County.
The service is open to the public and will also be livestreamed. Officials expect a large turnout to honor the fallen firefighter. A reporter and photographers from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will cover the service.
The 1st Base Gate and the 3rd Base Gate at the baseball park will open at noon, and guests will be able to sit in lower level sections 116 through 136. Police will direct traffic and guide attendees to parking lots.
The public can park in any Truist Park parking deck, and a code will be provided for validation. Lots S3 and S4 are reserved for DeKalb personnel, who will be shuttled to the stadium.
All attendees will go through security screening. Small clear bags are allowed, but large bags, backpacks and outside food and beverages are not.
After the service, at about 3:30 p.m., a procession will accompany his body to Kennesaw Memorial Park in Marietta for a private graveside service, according to officials. The motorcade will travel along I-75 North, North Marietta Parkway and Whitlock Avenue. Community members are invited to pay their respects along the route. Marietta officials said they expect traffic delays until 5 p.m. and urged motorists to use alternate roads.
Fant was “overcome by fire conditions” while fighting last week’s fire as nearly three dozen crews worked to put out the blaze in a South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road warehouse that housed Digital Thunderdome, an independent film production studio used for movies and music videos.
Firefighters pulled Fant out of the fire and rushed him to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died.
He is survived by his wife, Leigh, five children and one granddaughter, as well as his father and brother, according to his obituary.
A processional was held last week to bring his body from DeKalb to the West Cobb Funeral Home. Two Cobb County fire trucks used their ladders to display an American flag as firefighters gathered to honor Fant.
A GoFundMe campaign, launched to help support his family, has raised over $75,000.
He is the first DeKalb firefighter to die in the line of duty and the 58th firefighter to be killed in the line of duty this year in the U.S. and the first in Georgia, according to data from the U.S. Fire Administration.
This is the second large public memorial service for a DeKalb first responder in the last month. After police officer David Rose was killed in the Aug. 8 attack on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hundreds of mourners, Gov. Brian Kemp and county officials gathered to say goodbye Aug. 22.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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