Nathan Pilling
The Kansas City Star
(TNS)
Scores of first responders from throughout the region stood quietly as Kyle Brinker’s casket, wrapped in a flag, was handed down from a Kansas City fire engine.
A group of bagpipes cut into the stillness, as those close to the late Kansas City firefighter slowly escorted his remains into a memorial service. Across the parking lot, a large flag suspended from ladders rising from a pair of fire engines fluttered in the breeze.
Mourners gathered at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty Wednesday afternoon to remember and celebrate the life of Brinker, 33, the Kansas City firefighter-paramedic who died last week after suffering a medical emergency at a training event.
The Kansas City Fire Department estimated Brinker responded to nearly 20,000 calls during his 11 years with the department.
‘A good heart, a good person’
“As a paramedic, he was top-notch,” said KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. “There’s a lot of folks here in Kansas City that are still here because of the work that he did.”
“A good heart, a good person, everything that we would want in a Kansas City firefighter, he was the epitome of that,” Hopkins said.
Officials have not released Brinker’s cause of death, but have said he suffered a medical emergency during a training exercise Sept. 17. Personnel at the scene gave him medical care before he was rushed to North Kansas City Hospital. Staff were unable to revive him.
A visitation and celebration of life were held in Liberty Wednesday afternoon, ahead of a procession taking Brinker’s casket through the city to the fire stations where he worked during his time with the department.
“As a fire service, first responders, we deal with tragedy on a daily basis,” Hopkins said. “But we’re never really fully prepared when one of our own suffers a tragedy. It’s been a difficult week for the department, difficult week for Kyle’s family.”
Brinker grew up in Pennsylvania. He attended Coastal Carolina University to study marine science before taking up fire science at the Community College of Allegheny County. He later studied emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh after earning his certification as a paramedic in 2012.
Brinker moved to Kansas City to join the department, Hopkins said. He had a near-perfect score on an entrance exam and was seen as having the right qualities.
Beyond work, Brinker was passionate about barbecue and made an amazing brisket, family wrote in his obituary.
“He loved to travel with his wife, Becky and together they have been to Jamaica, St. Lucia, Mexico, and many smaller trips around the country,” they wrote. “Kyle enjoyed his pet, Doug the Dog, both walking him and playing fetch.”
Family members suggested memorial donations be made to the Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund operated by the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission. For more information, visit kc-crime.org/safe.
This story contains previous reporting from The Star’s Ilana Arougheti.
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