LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Zoneton Fire Chief Rob Orkies was laid to rest after three days of visitation and funeral services honoring his decades of service.
Orkies passed way Friday, December 11th after battling both cancer and COVID-19.
His casket, helmet, boots and jacket were carried inside by fellow firefighters.
After the church services, the hero's casket was taken to Okolona Fire Station 2, where he began his career in 1984. After a brief moment of remembrance, the procession traveled to the location of the old Zoneton Fire Station 1, which was active when Orkies switched to serve Zoneton in 1994.
The procession made a final stop at the current Zoneton Fire Station 1, before ending at his final resting place at Brooklyn Cemetery. Orkies was elected Fire Chief in 2003.
Orkies was honored with the ringing of the bell, which signaled the end of his shift, a flyover by LMPD and a first responders helicopter and a final call from dispatch.
His granddaughter was presented with the flag that draped his coffin and with his fire helmet.
The Zoneton Fire Department paid tribute to their Chief Rob Orkies by parking their Christmas fire truck outside the station with a Santa suit. Dec. 18, 2020
On Thursday night, fire crews parked the fire truck they decorate in Christmas lights each year and laid a Santa suit on a chair with fur-trimmed boots to honor their chief.
Orkies was diagnosed with COVID-19 just one week into his chemotherapy treatment. He was 55 years old.
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