Firefighter Shawn Giles remembered for dedication to his family, community
NORTH EAST — Mourners remembered Shawn Giles, the 53-year-old volunteer firefighter who days earlier was killed in the line of duty, as a selfless, dedicated and quiet man who found fulfillment in life through service to his community and the precious moments spent with family and friends.
Looking out across the hundreds of first responders — police officers, firefighters and paramedics — who gathered Friday under grey skies at Gravel Pit Park, Rev. Thomas Brooks of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus Church in North East called the outpouring a "great tribute" to Giles, who was killed by a motorist Aug. 20 while directing traffic at the scene of accident.
"In a way, this large gathering is somewhat ironic for a man who Adele has pointed out was a 'gentle giant,' who never wanted to be the center of attention, who was most often focused on other people and what they needed, a good man who would rather just kick back and enjoy spending time with the family," Brooks said, referring to Giles' wife, Adele Burnett Giles, of more than 11 years.
'Heroes are not born'
A palette of red, grey, yellow, green and orange fire trucks, 30 in all, lined the drive that circles the park Friday. A Fuller Hose engine carrying Giles' remains led a midday procession there from the William D. Elkin Funeral Home just south of downtown North East. As it inched toward the park, residents stood along the road, some waving American flags, others holding their hands over their hearts.
All 28 members of the Fuller Hose Co., which Giles faithfully served as a fire police officer for 13 years, were relieved of their volunteer duties for the day so they could mourn their fallen brother. In their place, a cadre of firefighters from Corry, Clymer, Kuhl Hose and as far south as Monroeville in Allegheny County came to answer emergency calls in this community of 10,000.
Early Friday, Lt. Chris Skrekla, the president of Fuller Hose Co., repeated comments he'd made throughout the week, that Giles' death, the first in the line of duty in the company's 138-year history, marked its "darkest hour."
Skrekla said, too, that Giles' death served as a reminder that the men and women of this or any fire company are "everyday heroes" for the tasks they perform behind the scenes or that all too often go unnoticed.
Brooks echoed similar sentiments.
"Someone once said, my brothers and sisters, that heroes are not born so, they are proved," Brooks said. "They are proved by the choices they make. There is a great truth in that statement, isn't there? Heroes are so often ordinary men and women, people we know, our neighbors and friends, people gathered here to recognize Shawn today.
"They don't often recognize themselves as noble, despite the fact they are so generous in their outreach to help others and take on the personal risk and dangers that might be involved," Brooks continued. "Shawn is one such hero."
Giles was a 1989 North East High School graduate. After graduation he joined the U.S. Army, serving in Germany, from 1989 to 1993.
Giles earned degrees in maintenance electricity and construction technology from Triangle Tech. He was employed as an assembler at Wabtec in Lawrence Park Township at the time of his death.
'A senseless tragedy'
Giles on Sunday was struck by a motorist and thrown 15 to 20 feet in the air before hitting the pavement at the intersection of Route 20 at Brickyard Road. He was pronounced dead later that day at UPMC Hamot from multiple blunt-force trauma injuries.
Giles was directing traffic on Route 20 as Pennsylvania State Police troopers were investigating a motor-vehicle accident that occurred a half hour earlier.
An Erie man, 41-year-old Dawann M. Simmons, faces third-degree felony charges of homicide by vehicle and accidents involving death or injury while not licensed in the death of Giles. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the accident and could file additional charges against Simmons.
Police say Simmons was speeding on Route 20 before he struck Giles in his 2007 Lexus RX350 Sunday. Simmons allegedly did not slow down as he approached the emergency zone in which Giles was working.
He is being held at the Erie County Prison on $200,000 bond.
A family in mourning
The pain and heartbreak the Giles family is experiencing is a pain Jim Crotty knows all too well.
Crotty, an ordained chaplain and a firefighter/EMT for the Harborcreek Fire Department, told the hundreds in attendance that he was reminded this week of his mother when he saw a social media post from Giles' wife, Adele, saying there has to be something good that can come from her husband's tragic death.
Crotty's mother said nearly identical words, he recalled, when her son and his brother, 24-year-old Michael Crotty of the Erie Fire Department was struck and killed by a piece of equipment that fell from a fire truck as he was responding to a fire at a plastics manufacturing facility in 2008.
"There's something inherently wonderful about women that through their grief they can identify an injustice or an obvious need for change and work towards that," Crotty said. "Men, on the other hand, so very often plod along."
Crotty called for support for Adele Burnett Giles, who early Friday released a statement on behalf of the Giles family. In that statement, she promised to "do everything in my power to ensure that this senseless tragedy doesn't happen to someone else."
But he also pleaded with Giles' colleagues not to suffer alone.
Approximately 100 firefighters are killed in the line of duty in the United States each year, Crotty said. He described the unique characteristics of a profession that demands of its members that they lay down their lives for those who they don't know. It's one filled with "mountaintops and valleys," the former much easier to recognize, he said.
Those "mountaintops," he said, often include banter about what they did on scene and how awesome they were. The friendly ribbing over which member got which vehicle stuck and where. Or seeing the new kid rise through the ranks, he said.
"The valleys aren't so easy to recognize," he said. "I suspect that in the weeks, months and years to come one or more of you is going to find yourself in such a place, a place of reliving, reimaging and rethinking, possibly depressed or anxious or both, taking up bad habits or isolating yourselves, perhaps even leaving the fire service you once fell in love with. Brothers and sisters, don't let this be you. If you find yourself struggling, reach out."
Before he concluded his eulogy, an "end of watch" call was played for Giles, as was a "tolling of the bells," which consists of five consecutive bells followed by a pause and repeated two more times. Giles also received full military honors during the funeral, including a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
"Shawn served his family his country and his community," Crotty said. "Because of Shawn's daring bravery we can all be guided by the example of Shawn's honor in his final and perhaps finest moment on planet earth. In protecting others and showing selfless sacrifice, the fire service is truly better because he was a member of it. In Shawn Giles we get a vision of the kind of character that puts the mission of protecting life first, his fellow firemen second and himself last."
Giles family statement
The Giles family release a statement in response to Shawn's death. It appears in full, below:
"On Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, at 1 p.m., I received a phone call that forever changed not only my life but also the lives of literally hundreds of people.
"Shawn was my husband; but before that he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a godfather, a cousin and a friend to all who knew him. He was an amazing stepfather to my two children.
"Shawn was a volunteer firefighter; he was always there to provide help whenever it was needed, without question, or any hesitation. That is what happened on Sunday afternoon; he was needed — so he went.
"But this time he didn't come home," the family's statement continues. "Shawn's death has left a huge hole in the hearts of everyone who knew him.
"The amount of love, support, phone calls, cards, food and kindness extended to all of us has been so overwhelming. We can never thank you enough. I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that this senseless tragedy doesn't happen to someone else."
Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Ahead of funeral, firefighter's family says he was 'friend to all''
