Firefighter/EMT makes lasting impression on county, departments
‘Working with the family through all of this, I know why he turned out to be the great person he was.’ Dublin EMS Director John Tadlock
An air of sadness has filled Dublin and Erath County after the loss of volunteer firefighter and EMT Andrew Dean.
Andrew, 21, was involved in a motorcycle wreck Monday, Aug. 1 in the 2200 block of Lingleville Road after being struck by a car.
Airlifted to Fort Worth, he passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 2 while in surgery to repair injuries sustained in the crash.
Andrew may have been fairly new to the state by Texan standards after relocating here from Tennessee a couple of years ago, but he wasted no time jumping in to serve the community.
He was a volunteer firefighter with Erath County Volunteer Fire Department and had served in that capacity for a year and a half. Working hard as a volunteer firefighter, Andrew was named as Rookie of the Year for Erath County Volunteer Fire Rescue in 2021.
He also worked part-time for Erath County EMS and had joined Dublin EMS as a fulltime EMT two months ago after earning his emergency medical technician certification four months ago.
He was continuing his hard work as he moved forward with earning his fire
Dublin EMS drives in the funeral procession for Andrew Dean, a 21 year-old firefighter paramedic who had worked for the department for several months. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on August 1.
Citizens pay their respects for fallen firefighter Andrew Dean.
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certification and wanted to move on in his big sister’s footsteps of becoming a paramedic.
“Working with the family through all of this, I know why he turned out to be the great person he was,” Dublin EMS Director John Tadlock said.
Erath County Volunteer Fire Rescue Coordinator Chris Brooks has many great memories of Andrew, some of them just of them hanging out at the station. Brooks said to many guys on the department, Andrew was their “little brother” and someone they enjoyed spending time with whether it was during down time at the station or on calls when they were working together.
Tadlock recommended Andrew be hired full-time with Dublin since as a parttime EMT, he was such a great guy.
“He got along with everyone … every single person he was paired with and that is a very unusual quality in EMS,” he said. He describes Andrew as someone who was smart, inquisitive, who always wanted to learn and wasn’t afraid to ask questions.
Since the entire family had relocated from Tennessee, it has been important to area first responders that the family feels the love and support of surrounding departments.
That support was shown in an escort and processional over the last week.
On Thursday, Aug. 4, Andrew’s body was escorted back to Stephenville from Fort Worth by members of the Erath VFD, Erath EMS, Dublin EMS and Erath County Emergency Management. Along their way roadways were shut down in honor of the fallen firefighter. They were also met with department after department paying their respects … Fort Worth, Aledo, Willow Bend just to name a few. Once, they crossed into Palo Pinto County, Santo VFD welcomed them back into the area and helped block I-20.
As the escort got closer to home, more departments joined in and not a single department from Erath County missed out on the opportunity to pay their respects to both Andrew and offer comfort and support to his family.
Citizens lined roadways as the escort moved through the area, especially in Stephenville along Hwy. 281.
After Andrew’s service on Monday, Aug. 8 at the Erath County Cowboy Church the funeral procession made its way from Stephenville to Dublin EMS and then back to Stephenville EMS.
Comanche and Tolar VFDs raised aerial ladders from their trucks suspending a U.S. flag between them on Patrick Street in Dublin to allow the procession to pass through them and pay their respects.
More than 25 agencies and more than 100 vehicles joined in the procession, some from as far as away as Parker County.
Traffic came to a halt on Hwy. 377 as the processional passed by and citizens lined the streets of Dublin and Stephenville to pay their last respects to a firefighter whose contribution to the world of emergency services will not soon be forgotten.
Citizens pull over for the funeral procession for Andrew Dean as it leaves Dublin.