First Responders Gather In Bristol For Fallen Officer's Funeral

Family, friends and first responders from across the region gathered together in Bristol Borough Monday to .

Wintz, 65, died early last Wednesday after feeling ill and leaving the scene of the .

After pulling into the driveway of his Penn Street home and exiting his tan truck with red emergency lights affixed to the top -- a staple at Bristol fire scenes -- Wintz went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after by doctors at Lower Bucks Hospital.

Many of the first responders who worked to try to revive the fallen Wintz  said they knew him through his nearly 50-years of serving in local fire companies in Lower Bucks County.

Bristol Fire Company Deputy Chief Francis Hufnell said outside the fire station that the loss is "tough" for the close-knit company.

Hufnell last remembered seeing the fire policeman as the company's fire engine arrived at the Dow plant shortly before 3:45 a.m.

"He was always one of the first to respond," Deputy Bristol Borough Fire Chief Tony Riccio said Monday as he stood out Saint Mark's Roman Catholic Church. The deputy chief added that Wintz responded to nearly every call he was asked to.

Fire trucks and medic units -- more than 80 in total -- lined Radcliffe Street as an on-and-off drizzle fell Monday, but every firefighter that Patch talked to said paying their respects to a firefighting brother was the least they could do.

"We really appreciate all the love and support from everybody," said borough firefighter Sue Wintz Griscavage, daughter of the fallen fire policeman.

Aside from volunteering with the fire service, Wintz was known to help at many of the community-wide events held in the borough.

"He was always around," one Bristol firefighter said as he held back tears.

As the mass ended, the uniformed men and women of local fire service saluted as the casket of their fallen comrade was carried and lifted onto the back of an older model engine truck.

The line of mourners' vehicles and fire trucks with their lights on and sirens eerily silent passed down Radcliff Street as neighbors and onlookers gathered to watch.

Next, the funeral procession passed by the Bristol Fire Company Station on Wood Street, then a short ceremony was held at the site of Wintz's last post outside the Dow facility.

Over the crackle of the firefighters' radios, a dispatcher relayed the initial 3:35 a.m. box alarm dispatch to the large fire chemical that awoke Wintz and sent him on his final call.

"Box 11-99 will never be sounded for an alarm again," the county dispatcher said over the fireband.

Just a short time later, Wintz arrived at his final resting place -- Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem.

Born in Philadelphia and a resident of Bristol for several years, Wintz is survived by his wife, Helen, and five children.

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