among those we have lost, jeffrey keaton and andrew odwire. firefighters. all young fathers. i got to meet jeffrey's son, harvey, before. a wonderful young boy. and andrew's daughter, charlotte. they were born just days apart. our hearts break to see children so small and so young attending their father's funerals. fighter samuel mcpaul, his child is due in may and will only know him secondhand. his wife, meagan, will never see him holding their baby. she'll never see him give his first fatherly kiss. they kill not share the first steps, the first words, first birthday or first day at school. that baby will grow up knowing they're the child of an amazing man and one who we're all proud of. bill slade, a veteran firefighter who picked up his first firehose in 1979. a husband, a father, a proud member of the australian workers union. he fought fires on ash wednesday and black saturday before he threw himself into what would prove his final fight in the east gibsane blaze. his wife, carol, said by a relative, i'll miss him, i'll miss the great times we had yet to come. dick lange