Hundreds of family members, friends and first responders gathered in Middleburg Heights on Monday to honor North Royalton firefighter Ryan Milligan, who died November 2 while battling a house fire in Broadview Heights, cleveland.com reported in coverage carried by Firehouse magazine.
The day began with a funeral procession at 9 a.m. from Busch Funeral Home in Parma, traveling south along Ridge Road to Route 82 in North Royalton, passing the North Royalton Fire Department before continuing to Grace Church in Middleburg Heights, Firehouse reported. Residents and firefighters from across Northeast Ohio lined the route to pay their respects.
North Royalton Fire Chief Robert Chegan opened Monday’s service by remembering Milligan’s commitment to his fellow firefighters and to the community he served, according to the cleveland.com account carried by Firehouse. During the service, Milligan’s family was presented with the Martin E. Pierce Medal of Honor, described in that account as the highest honor bestowed on members of the International Association of Fire Fighters in recognition of service and sacrifice.
Following the service, a second procession traveled to Holy Cross Cemetery, where Milligan was laid to rest, Firehouse reported.
Milligan, 36, died November 2 while assisting Broadview Heights safety services at a house fire in the 2100 block of West Royalton Road, according to Firehouse. Officials have not released the cause of his death. A fellow North Royalton firefighter, Andrew Protsman, 38, of Parma, was also seriously injured in the fire; WOIO reported that Protsman remained hospitalized but was expected to recover.
Milligan, of Seven Hills, had served with the North Royalton Fire Department since August 2016, Firehouse reported, and his career also included time with the Newburgh, Northfield and Seven Hills fire departments, according to Nordonia Hills News. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Governor Mike DeWine ordered United States and Ohio flags flown at half-staff at public buildings throughout North Royalton and at the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center and the Rhodes State Office Tower, WOIO reported, with the flags to remain lowered until sunset on the day of the funeral.
Milligan died on a mutual-aid call — a North Royalton crew answering a house fire in neighboring Broadview Heights. Fire departments across Cuyahoga County’s suburbs routinely cross city lines for working fires, which is why Monday’s funeral drew companies from well beyond North Royalton: the loss belonged, in the fire service’s terms, to the whole region.
The fire that killed Milligan remains under investigation. The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau is leading the investigation, assisted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Firehouse’s earlier report on the funeral arrangements.
Support for the family continues alongside the investigation. North Royalton Firefighter Local 2156 has established a fundraiser to support Milligan’s family, Firehouse reported. Northeast Ohio departments were back on emergency calls the same weekend — in Cuyahoga County, Euclid firefighters rescued a resident from a fourth-floor apartment fire.
The honors began days earlier. On Wednesday, law enforcement officers escorted Milligan’s body from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office to Busch Funeral Home in Parma, WOIO reported, and calling hours were held Sunday, November 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Grace Church, according to the funeral arrangements reported by Firehouse.
Firehouse’s coverage noted that Milligan became trapped in the basement while fighting the Broadview Heights fire on Monday, November 2. The second firefighter, Protsman, was seriously injured in the same fire, and WOIO reported he remains hospitalized and is expected to recover.
WKYC reported that first responders and community members came together again on Monday, with residents lining the procession route for miles as the funeral party moved between Parma, North Royalton and Middleburg Heights. Milligan’s full obituary is posted by Busch Funeral and Crematory Services, according to Nordonia Hills News.
What happens next: investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s office and the ATF will work to determine how the West Royalton Road fire started and the circumstances of Milligan’s death, neither of which officials have released. The North Royalton Fire Department and Local 2156 are expected to remain the community’s points of contact for support for the Milligan and Protsman families in the days ahead.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY