A car plowed into a group of six motorcycle riders in a remote area of Alaska, killing two retired firefighters from Mentor.
Battalion Chief Greg Keyes, who built and developed the department's dive unit, and firefighter EMT Tim Boyce, whose dad had been a Mentor firefighter, were killed.
Firefighters at the Mentor Fire Department remembered the men they worked side by side with for up to a quarter century.
"Nobody expected this," said Deputy Chief Bob Searles. "We're all in shock and disbelief."
"It's one of my worst ever days," said Chief Richard Harvey. "Whatever the problem was, whether it was a fire or medical emergency or anything that came along, they both helped people and loved helping people. They were great, great individuals."
Because they work and live together under unique pressures, fighters become second family.
Keyes and Boyce's lockers had been cleared out after retirement, but even in retirement, they stayed close and had regular get-togethers.
"Now these are going to be missed and we're just going to have the good times we had with them to remember them by," said firefighter Kevin Edmond.
Funeral arrangements for the retired firefighters are still being worked out.
