Firemen Remembered 30 Years After Deaths
By: Kristen Kennedy
Updated: March 23, 2009
Firefighters in the Hub remember and honor three of their own this weekend on the thirtieth anniversary of their tragic loss. Kenneth Haggard, Eddie Swafford and Larry Tucker rushed to put out a restaurant fire in Central Lubbock and died of carbon monoxide poisioning while in the building. Their deaths led to new legislation on air packs used by firefighters across the nation. And in Lubbock, procedures involving firefighter accountability were altered as well. Back in September, the Lubbock Fire Department re-named three stations to honor Haggard's, Swafford's and Tucker's sacrifice to service. "I drive by this building on my way to work everyday. So it's just kind of a little extra, makes me feel good every time I do that and hope people recognize it when they drive by," says Haggard's daughter Brenda Gray.
Most fire stations in Lubbock are numbered, and Kenneth Haggard's daughters say the re-naming came as a pleasant surprise, and a great way to honor their father and his two comrades.
