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| Firefighter to be honored at national memorial |
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9/30/2016
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
Several Montgomery County firefighters are expected to attend a ceremony honoring a fallen Capt. at a national memorial next month.
Zachary Chase Clevenger’s name will be among 79 across the country added to the National Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md., Oct. 9. All died in the line of duty last year.
Clevenger, 30, who also served as a volunteer with the Estill County Fire Dept., died last December hours after battling a structure fire there. The cause of death was cardiovascular related, Estill County Coroner Tony Murphy told the Advocate.
At the time he and his wife, Christina, had just moved into a new home. Christina was pregnant with their first child. Clevenger had felt the baby’s heartbeat for the first time from his wife’s stomach the week prior to his death, former fire chief Larry Potter told the Advocate at the time.
Christina and Zach’s infant child are expected to attend the ceremony.
His death came as a shock.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Mike Mosbey served alongside Clevenger as battalion chief for Battalion 2 at the East High Street fire station. Mosbey said he expects more than half the shift to attend the ceremony.
He said it’s important for the dept. to honor Clevenger, who he described as one of his best friends.
“For a fireman to give the supreme sacrifice for their community, that’s the way they should go out,” Mosbey said.
The loss deeply affected the Montgomery County Fire Dept. when it occurred.
Clevenger was honored with a large service at Living Water Church attended by hundreds of firefighters from across the state and beyond.
He was taken by fire truck across the city, by the East High Street fire station and then onto his native Lee County for burial.
The fire dept. received considerable support from the community after Clevenger’s death with law enforcement and the public posting condolences on social media from all over the country.
Clevenger’s fellow firefighters said the fire service was in his blood.
Clevenger was a graduate of the fire science program at Eastern Kentucky University and quickly promoted to the rank of Capt. after joining the dept. seven and a half years earlier.
He was also a member of the dept.’s swift water rescue team and did fire investigations for a private company.
“He had all the potential in the world, he could have been a battalion chief here or fire chief given enough time,” Mosbey said. “We miss him.”
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