Body of Fallen Firefighter Escorted Home from Winston-Salem

CONOVER, NC – The body of fallen Sherrills Ford and Newton Firefighter Captain Bradley Long was escorted home from Winston-Salem Wednesday.

“When one gets hurt, it hurts all of us. It’s just like losing a loved one,” says firefighter Albert Felder.
Firefighters raised a giant American flag to honor Captain Bradley Long as his body passed by.

Captain Long’s father Jerry says he and the family are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.

“People ask me, ‘What can we do for the Long family?’ We have all kind of superheroes on TV, but take your children by the fire department and thank the real heroes of this world,” Long says.

For those who took part in the procession, it’s personal. Many like Captain Doug Bunch watched Captain Long grow up at the fire house.

“Just kinda followed us around and followed his Dad around to where he became a true firefighter,” Bunch says.

Christie Burgess brought her stepson Corben to watch. She says Captain Long made an impression on him just last week, giving him a fire hat.

“We wanted to come out here and see them bring him home and pay our respects,” Burgess says.

For those closest to the department, the loss is still hard to understand.

“I mean, I didn’t believe it at first,” says Bill Sondervan.

Captain Long and two other divers were trying to recover the body of a missing swimmer, when something went wrong underwater.

“They’re well trained and they’re good at what they do. So, I was, I was almost in disbelief,” Sondervan says.