Remember these men, their surviving comrades, and all the families and friends in your prayers.

Nine firemen die in Charleston, South Carolina store blaze.

My dad was a volunteer fireman for 32 years, retiring as Chief. I remember him scrambling out of the house at all hours to get to fires, and somehow I managed to banish the fear that he might not return. Mom and Doug did, too. You have to, for his sake as well as yours.

When tragedies like this happen, it's a gut punch to firemen and their families everywhere.