DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – -- The 7th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Emergency Services hosted a remembrance muster in honor of a fallen firefighter, Staff Sgt. Ray Rangel, today at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
Rangel was a firefighter assigned to Dyess, who died while attempting to rescue two soldiers trapped in a Humvee that overturned in a canal outside of Balad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 13, 2005.
“Because of Sergeant Rangel’s sacrifice, his legacy will live on through what we do in firefighting,” said Lt. Col. Shamekia Toliver, 7th CES commander.
Dyess Airmen participated in a firefighter-geared workout to challenge the physical strength and endurance that is used during an emergency. The workout included hose rolls, basket drags, tire flips and running, which are all different scenarios that could be used during an emergency or rescue.
“This muster was created to promote who he was and what his sacrifice meant to us,” said Master Sgt. Stephen Perez, 7th CES fire prevention assistant chief. “He was the kind of guy that would go out of his way to help anyone out.”
The remembrance muster was the first since his passing in 2005. Perez said he hopes to continue the remembrance muster by gathering yearly to do the firefighter workouts in Rangel’s honor.
“He loved being a firefighter,” Perez said. “It was his life.”