SFFMA's 4th Vice President and long time member of SFFMA passed away on April 3rd, 2010 at approximately 10:50am.
Vice President Barrett suffered a severe and fatal stroke on March 31st while having dinner in League City at a fire service function.
Update 4/21/10
The committal service for Associate Division Director Pat Barrett is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. in Spur, Texas. The service will be held at the Spur Memorial Cemetery off State Hwy. 70. In addition to a road sign denoting the cemetery location, two (2) flags with Fire Department Maltese Cross will mark the turn-off location to the cemetery.
A family and fire apparatus procession will depart the Spur Fire Department at approximately 1:50 p.m. to the cemetery. All fire apparatus participating in the procession shall be staged at the Spur Fire Department no later than 1:00 p.m. The Spur Fire Department is located at 100 Burlington Avenue. To reach the fire station, you should turn south off of Hwy. 70 at the flashing light intersection in Spur. Spur VFD members will assist with any staging needs.
At the conclusion of the service, everyone is invited and welcome to attend a reception that will be held in the Exhibition Bldg. located at Swenson Park. To reach the Exhibition Bldg. you should turn off Hwy. 70 at the Alsup’s station/store.
Please contact Chief Benny Ball 806-269-3789 if you have any questions.
Services for Associate Director Pat Barrett have been finalized.
A Memorial Service will be held in College Station, Texas on Friday, April 9th at 10:00 a.m. and a committal service will be held on Saturday May 1st at 2:00 p.m. in Spur, Texas. Details of the committal service in Spur will be released later this week.
The Memorial Service on Friday, April 9th will be held at Central Baptist Church, located at 1991 F.M. 158, College Station, Texas 77845. This church is near the intersection of Harvey Road & Boonville Road. A fire service processional will travel from the church to the Brayton Fire Training Field immediately following the memorial service. Lunch and refreshments will follow at the Henry D. Smith Building. Information details regarding report times and apparatus staging for the procession will be transmitted on Tuesday.
Update 4/7/10
Annual Schools Guest Instructor Gathering
In tribute to Pat Barrett, The Hilton Hotel in College Station is making available a very large meeting room (Oakwood Ball Room) for current and former Guest Instructors of the Annuals Schools to meet on Thursday evening from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The hotel recognizes that many of the Guest Instructors would want to gather, be with each other, and share reflections on Pat’s life as they begin to arrive in town on Thursday.
Please know that this is very informal, and should not be considered as any type of a ceremony, nor will there be any public remarks by anyone. Again, the intent is for Annual School Guest Instructors to be able to gather at a central site and be with each other if you so desire.
Also, know that the Hilton has a client event previously booked for that meeting room that will not finish until 6:30 p.m. The Hilton staff will quickly prepare the room for the Guest Instructors between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Thus, please respect and adhere to an arrival time of no early than 7:00 p.m. and conclude no later than 10:00 p.m. Please be respectful, safe, and responsible coming to, during, and departing the gathering.
We graciously thank the The Hilton Hotel for their respect for Pat and their consideration for our Guest Instructors.
Annual Schools Guest Instructor Coin Honor
Several years ago, the Fire School issued special coins to our guest instructors. This action was greatly appreciated by our guest instructors and was the original idea of Pat Barrett. He strongly believed that guest instructors were truly special, that there was a unique bond between them, and that they needed some sort of symbol that united them.
Pat had the coins designed and produced. Ever since then, Pat developed a personal tradition of leaving an instructor coin in the casket of each guest instructor funeral he attended. It was his way of expressing to those deceased instructors that their bond would never be forgotten, that their travel would not be alone, and that he would always be with them.
I know that most of our Guest Instructors have a strong bond with Pat and that they want to be with him forever. During the Memorial Service or while at the lunch at the Fire School, every Guest Instructor will have the opportunity to leave their instructor coin with Pat if they so desire. These coins will be buried with Pat at the committal service in Spur, Texas on May 1st. All Guest Instructors that desire to do this are reminded to make sure and bring their instructor coin with them.
Guest Instructors can leave their coin at one of two places. They may leave their coin for Pat at the Fire Field during the lunch as a basket will be present with Pat near the Fire Instructor Memorial Wall. This will allow each instructor to take their time and personalize their coin drop to Pat. For those not going to the Fire Field, the coin may dropped in the baskets at the portal doors held by the Past Presidents (in red jackets) of the SFFMA as they exit the church.
Please be very assured that we will replace your personal coin with another one at the annual July Fire Schools. All you have to do is ask any staff member for a replacement.
Each guest instructor is encouraged to share this information with all other guest instructors.
You are encouraged to use the http://www.teex.org/fire website and click on Pat Barrett Updates (bottom left hand corner) to get the latest posted details regarding the services and other information.
Update 4/5/10:
Fire Apparatus Procession Information
The Memorial Service for Pat Barrett will be held at 10:00 AM at Central Baptist Church located at 1991 FM 158 Road, College Station, Texas 77845. Every department that would like to honor Pat Barrett with an apparatus in the procession is highly encouraged to do so.
The procession will begin at the conclusion of the Memorial Service and travel to the Brayton Fire Field where lunch and refreshments will be served. The following link is map of area around church http://www.cbcbryan.org/map.
All apparatus are to be staged at the Memorial Service location no later than 0900 hours on Friday, April 9th. Staging area signage will be at the location. A staging officer (Texas Forest Service) at the location will coordinate the staging line-up. Please know that parking for the procession at Brayton Fire Field will be very compact. Due to the compact parking plan, departure time after the lunch may not occur until approximately 2:00 PM.
Any department that brings an apparatus the night before are welcome to park the apparatus overnight at Brayton Fire Field. In addition, you will be welcome to access water for apparatus cleaning if necessary. We will also arrange for security.
To ensure we can plan accordingly, we request that you notify us of your intent to have an apparatus in the procession. Although not required, we would appreciate knowing your intent by 12:00 noon on Thursday April 8th. You may call our toll free number at 866-878-8900 and inform us of how many and type of apparatus you intend to have in the procession.
If you need additional information please contact Robert Moore 979-255-0084 or Lynn Bizzell 979-229-9808.
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In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to the Pat Barrett Scholarship Fund at the Texas A&M Foundation. This scholarship will benefit students of the Brayton Fire Training Field. Checks should be made payable to the Texas A&M Foundation and mailed to 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, Texas 77840-2811.
We have been notified by several hotels that they are offering discounted rates for Thursday night (April 8th). These include:
Holiday Inn & Suites – 2500 Earl Rudder Freeway, College Station, TX 979-485-8300
Towne Place Suites – 1300 E. University Drive, College Station, TX 979-260-8500
Hilton Hotel – 801 University Drive, College Station, TX 979-693-7500
Courtyard by Marriott – 3939 State Hwy. 6, College Station, TX 979-695-8111
You are encouraged to use the http://www.teex.org/fire website and click on Pat Barrett Updates (bottom left hand corner) to get the latest posted details regarding the services and other information.
We will greatly miss Pat and his service, dedication and his contributions he has made for the fire service of Texas.
Please continue to keep Pat's family and his wife, Janet, in your thoughts and prayers.
Promote, Unify, Represent, and Educate the Fire Service of Texas