Fallen Hamilton Firefighter Patrick Wolterman will be remembered during a public memorial service Thursday.
He died early Monday while fighting a house fire.
Fire Chief Steve Dawson says several neighboring departments will be covering Hamilton stations so firefighters can attend the memorial service.
"It will be Cincinnati, Hanover Township, Fairfield Township, Liberty Township, City of Monroe, and I also understand Ross Township Fire Department," says Dawson. "They'll start their coverage (Thursday) morning at 7 a.m. and they'll cover throughout the day until all of our fire personnel can return from the funeral and burial."
Some Hamilton firefighters will remain at their stations. "We're leaving drivers behind on all the apparatus - because, like Cincinnati coming in to our city, they're not familiar with our streets and locations - so we'll actually have our drivers driving apparatuses to get to where they need to be."
The service is being held at . A procession will follow to Spring Grove Cemetery for a private burial.
Hamilton Firefighters Union President Brian Ruhl is encouraging people to line the route to show respect. (See map below.)
"We're going to pass many local fire departments," he says. "We'll go through the City of Fairfield, we're going to pass the City of Springdale. We'll go through a variety of others... Glendale. There will be multiple fire departments that will come out and show their respects as we are passing through their cities and down that route.
Ruhl also has a warning for people who may want to make a donation to help the Wolterman family. He says to make sure you're contributing to the legitimate fund online or the "Fire Fighter Patrick Wolterman Memorial Fund" at any First Financial Bank location.
"There have been other sites we've found that are fraudulent or are not backed by the Hamilton Fire (Department) or Local 20. There has also been some telephone solicitation preying on our fallen brother."
Funeral procession route from Princeton Pike Church of God to Spring Grove Cemetery:
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