Several metro Atlanta agencies paid their respects Wednesday morning to fallen DeKalb County firefighter Preston Fant with a somber procession that rolled through metro Atlanta.
Just after 9 a.m., the procession left Fire Station No. 24 on Redan Road in DeKalb, where Fant served for about 21 years. Several DeKalb police motorcycles and SUVs helped lead the group.
The procession traveled to the medical examiner’s office and made its way across several county lines before ending at the West Cobb Funeral Home in Marietta at about 11 a.m.
Along the way, a Sandy Springs fire spokesperson said their apparatus lined the I-285 bridges at Roswell Road, Mount Vernon, Riverside Drive, Raider Drive and Northside Drive.
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
As they awaited their fallen brother on Bankstone Drive in front of the funeral home, two Cobb County fire trucks used their outstretched ladders to display a massive American flag, which fluttered in the morning breeze.
The 53-year-old firefighter died Monday after he became trapped while trying to rescue a fellow firefighter as a film company warehouse burned around them on South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road. He is the first DeKalb firefighter to die in the line of duty.
A GoFundMe page was created to help Fant’s family with funeral expenses and had raised more than $27,000 as of Wednesday morning. He is survived by his wife and five children.
“During this heartbreaking time, we want to surround the Fant family with love and support,” the page states.
Funeral details have not been announced.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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