Hundreds turned out on a windy, chilly night Sunday to remember a Loudoun County firefighter who paid the ultimate sacrifice while investigating a gas leak.
Sterling Firefighter Trevor Brown was killed on Feb. 16, 2024 when a house exploded.
The vigil -- attended by fellow firefighters, neighbors, residents and family -- was held at the now empty incident site, where a memorial park will be open and dedicated on July 26, which would have been Brown's birthday.
The land was purchased by a neighbor who wanted to help turn into a spot where the community can come together and heal.
“Me and my wife, we purchased it out of our retirement funds. “We just, she felt it was so important that we had to take and get this done," ,” said Steve Honard told WRC. I mean literally, she said, ‘somebody has to do something, and we are somebody.’”
Some of the firefighters who were at the explosion last year returned to honor Brown.
“I was one of the firefighters that picked up Trevor's body that night and bring him down to the [medical examiner's] office, and it was, it's difficult,” said Sterling Firefighter Jesse Michaud. “So I come here now, and I see that fence, and I see where he laid to rest. And you know, it was the firefighter that I helped mentor in the fire service to get started. And he was a friend of mine. Our kids played together. So it's very, very difficult.”
Brown had a wife and three children.
Loudoun County Combined Fire Rescue Chief Keith Johnson told the attendees: “We are still healing, and we will be healing for the foreseeable future We have a lot to do; we strive to never let this event happen again.”
As a result of the explosion, Roger Bentley, a former boss at Southern States Cooperative, Inc. is awaiting trial in connection to the blast. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
