A large turnout of firefighters, family and friends is expected for the funeral of Sam London this afternoon in Lawrencetown.
London, 37, died in a family swimming accident last Tuesday at Drysdale Falls in Colchester County. The former Halifax regional firefighter is remembered for his commitment to family and as a consummate professional who did whatever possible to help others.
The funeral is being held at 2 p.m. at Good Shepherd Congregational Church on Lawrencetown Road.
Brendan Elliott, a spokesman for Halifax Regional Municipality, said it will be Type 3 funeral, with no formal marching parade.
“There may be a line of firefighters outside the church in a sign of solidarity and respect as they await the fire truck that is bringing Sam's remains to the church,” Elliott said.
Elliott said a large turnout of firefighters can be expected but they won’t be marching from a designated spot. Uniformed members are encouraged to line the street in front of the Good Sheppard Congregational Church as the band, honour guard and Engine 1 arrives.
Today we give our Brother Sam London his final send off.While on vacation with his family,he tragically drowned doing what any parent or firefighter would do. This is what a hero looks like. RIP Brother, we will take it from here #HpffAlwaysOnDuty pic.twitter.com/CG7ySi18fk
— Halifax Professional Firefighters (@HFXFirefighters) July 15, 2019
Firefighters at the funeral will dress in uniform, including medals.
Canadian flags at all Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency stations will be flown at half-staff.
London, a Three Fathom Harbour man, drowned after slipping under a pool of water at the top of the falls, which is near Tatamagouche. A family member tried to rescue London but couldn’t, RCMP reported. Two other family members were rescued by the Bible Hill special hazards response unit, which later located London’s body.
Firefighting colleague and close friend Greg Hunt told The Chronicle Herald that London always went above and beyond the line of duty.
“He was a great listener and Sam had this natural way with people,” Hunt said. “Sam was always the guy who comforted a family at the scene of a house fire. He loved being a firefighter because it was a job that he could actually in a hands-on way help people out in their time of most need, whether a car accident, a medical call or fire.”
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