Funeral service set for fallen firefighter

A funeral service for firefighter Joyce Craig-Lewis is set for Saturday, Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said Wednesday.

The service will be at 10 a.m. at Batchelor Bros. Funeral Services, 7112 N. Broad St., he said. Burial will follow at Ivy Hill Cemetery.

Craig-Lewis, a decorated 11-year veteran and mother of two, was fatally injured in a predawn fire in West Oak Lane on Tuesday. She was working an overtime shift when the call for a fire on Middleton Street came in to Engine 73 around 2:30 a.m. She was trapped while fighting a basement fire.

Investigators continue to work to determine the cause of the blaze, Executive Fire Chief Clifford Gilliam said Wednesday, and are attempting to piece together what prevented her from getting out of the house safely along with her fellow firefighters.

After helping rescue a woman from the home, Craig-Lewis and two other firefighters attacked the flames in the basement with a hose. When the heat and smoke became intense, a commander ordered the firefighters out.

But Craig-Lewis could not get out. She hit a Mayday button on her radio, sending her colleagues rushing back into the flames to search for her.

They found her body near a window in the dining room.

On Tuesday, Mayor Nutter and Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer promised a thorough review of the fire and the events that followed.

As part of the investigations, Craig-Lewis' equipment was being examined, including a personal-safety alert system designed to signal when a firefighter is in danger.

A distressed firefighter can manually trigger the alarm, which also goes off automatically if a firefighter remains motionless for more than 20 seconds.

Officials said it was not immediately known whether Craig-Lewis pressed her alarm or whether the device was functioning.

The first woman firefighter to lose her life in the line of duty in Philadelphia history, Craig-Lewis had a 16-year-old son and a 16-month-old daughter.

The Dobbins High School graduate had dreamed of becoming a firefighter since childhood, her friends and family said.

Sawyer described her as a "firefighter's firefighter." She had earned a reputation as a dedicated and gutsy professional who requested to work in busy companies to "perfect her craft," he said.

On Wednesday, Philadelphia Fire Fighters and Paramedics Union Local 22 announced a memorial fund for Craig-Lewis' children.

Donations may be sent to the "Local 22-Joyce Craig-Lewis Memorial Fund" and mailed to the union at 901 Arch St., Philadelphia 19107.

"We have lost a dear friend and a great firefighter," said Local 22 president Joe Schulle. "Joyce made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the citizens of Philadelphia. It's our hope that people will open their hearts and checkbooks to help support her two beloved children she's left behind."

The men and women of the department, Schulle said, "greatly appreciate the incredible outpouring of support we have received from the public during this extremely difficult time."

Also on Wednesday, Gov. Corbett ordered all flags at state buildings in Harrisburg and in Philadelphia to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Craig-Lewis.

The flags will remain lowered until sunset Saturday, the day of her burial.

Funeral arrangements have been made for Philadelphia Firefighter Joyce Craig-Lewis, 36, who died Tuesday while fighting a house fire in West Oak Lane.

A viewing will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Batchelor Bros. Funeral Services, 7112 N. Broad St.

A second viewing will be from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by a service from 10 a.m. to noon, both at Batchelor Bros.

Interment follows at Ivy Hill Cemetery, 1202 Easton Rd., East Mount Airy.

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