Two Firefighters Die In Mcdonald’S Fire

Two firefighters stormed into a burning McDonald’s early Monday to try to save the restaurant and anyone who might have been inside.

When the fire flared unexpectedly and raced toward the firefighters, the roof collapsed, killing the two in the department’s first on-scene fatalities since 1996.

The fire killed Lewis Mayo, 44, and Kimberly Smith, 30, the first woman among 56 Houston firefighters who have died on duty, Chief Lester Tyra said. Mayo had been with the department since 1981; Smith, since 1994.

“I was blessed by knowing these individuals and having them pass through my life,” Tyra said.

Firefighters from Mayo and Smith’s station congregated at a nearby station to receive grief counseling. About 100 formed a “wall of honor,” lining the street with their hats off as an ambulance carrying Smith passed.

The cause of the 4 a.m. fire, which destroyed the restaurant, remained under investigation.