BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thousands are expected to line the streets of Buffalo on Friday morning for the procession of Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno.
Arno will be transported aboard Engine 2 from Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Ave to St. Joseph Cathedral for the 10 a.m. funeral service.
From there, Engine 2 will carry Arno's casket to its final resting place at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Throughout the procession and funeral, the Buffalo Fire honor guard has the enormous task of ensuring Arno's casket is handled with care and dignity.
"When we get him to the cathedral, our job is to help transfer Jason from the rig into the to the building in a dignified and ceremonial way that's respectful to him and honors him and, and the family as well," Captain Chris Wright said.
In addition to his role with the honor guard, Wright is a member of Buffalo Fire's Engine 36.
"There's a lot of tradition and movement that comes with it," Captain Wright said. "We'll have bagpipers marching along with Jason the whole time."
Engine 2 is expected to leave Amigone Funeral Home by 9:30 a.m. Friday. The procession will move south on Delaware Ave and travel through Allentown as it continues south on Elmwood Ave in order to drive by the Engine 2 station.
Arno had been a member of Engine 2 for three years.
"There is no preparing for it, you just mentally prepare, the best you can," Captain Wright said. "You never want to have to do something like this."
Wright says the members of the honor guard go through an honor guard academy and work closely with the Buffalo Police guard as well.
Even though they never want to do it, they practice regularly in the event they're needed locally or somewhere else.
"When we do, we want to be prepared, so that when the ultimate sacrifice does happen, we can be prepared and give the respect and the honor that the fallen hero deserves," Wright said.