Overview
- Family, colleagues and hundreds of firefighters gathered at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion after a private viewing, with the public service starting at 12:30 p.m.
- Howard Bennett, 60, fell into the icy Delaware River at Wiggins Park Marina on Feb. 5 during routine fireboat work and was pulled from the water after about 30 minutes.
- He was transported to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
- Officials and union leaders praised his decades of dependable service; he leaves a wife and two children and was posthumously promoted to captain.
- A procession moved through Camden County, including his hometown of Maple Shade, as the mayor ordered municipal flags to half-staff and the governor directed statewide flag lowering.