Father’s Namesake Bears Fireman’s Coffin

A firefighter killed in an ambush shooting while trying to save a burning residence took his last ride on a firetruck Saturday aboard a pumper named for his father, a firefighter who also died on the job.

Lt. Javier Lerma, 41, died along with another firefighter and a Shelby County sheriff’s deputy Wednesday when a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire. The suspected gunman’s wife also was killed. He and a bystander were wounded.

Lerma, 41, was carried to his funeral in a gray metal coffin atop a fire department pumper that bore the name of his father, Martiniano R. Lerma.

The Memphis Fire Department honors firefighters killed in the line of duty by putting their names on firefighting equipment. The elder Lerma died fighting a fire in 1977.

More than 1,500 firefighters and other police and emergency workers from around the country lined both sides of the street through which Lerma’s coffin was driven to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

The Rev. Milton Guthrie, who delivered the funeral sermon, described Lerma as a dedicated father and family man who answered a special call to spend his life trying to save others from danger.

Also killed in the gunfire as they arrived at the burning residence of Frederick Williams were Deputy Rupert Peete, 45, and firefighter William Blakemore, 48.

Their funerals were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Williams’ wife, Stacey Williams, 32, was found dead inside the residence after the shooting stopped.

Williams, 41, who was also a firefighter, was shot and seriously wounded by police. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder and arson.