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Pennsylvania flags at half mast for fallen Philly firefighter

PHILADELPHIA Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday ordered Pennsylvania flags at state facilities lowered to half-staff in honor of a Philadelphia firefighter who was killed when a roof collapsed beneath him as he battled a weekend fire.

Capt. Michael Goodwin, 53, fell from the roof of a three-story building in the city's Queen Village section Saturday night and was pronounced dead at the scene. Fellow firefighter Andrew Golewski was burned while trying to rescue him.

In a statement, Corbett said flags will remain at half-staff until sundown Wednesday, the day of Goodwin's burial. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter had previously ordered flags flown at half-staff at all city buildings for the next 30 days.

Executive Fire Chief Richard Davison said Goodwin, a 29-year veteran, will receive a posthumous promotion to battalion chief that will enhance his family's benefits and allow him to retire at that rank. CBS Philadelphia affiliate KYW-TV reports that Davison had recently taken a test for the promotion. Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said during the weekend that he had been hoping Goodwin would one day make chief.

Residents and mourners called Goodwin a 'hero,' which brought emotions out in his brother and Philadelphia police officer Jim Goodwin. "In my eyes, my brother's always been a hero. Nothing more important to him but family and the fire department," Jim Goodwin told KYW-TV.

Goodwin is survived by a wife, two grown children and three siblings, according to fire officials.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday and the cause of the fire still hasn't been determined.

The loss rocked the department as it prepared to mark the one-year anniversary of an April 9 blaze at a warehouse that killed Capt. Robert Neary, 59, and Daniel Sweeney, 25. They also died in a collapse, which came as they inspected an adjacent building.

Fellow firefighters carry the body of fallen firefighter Capt. Michael Goodwin at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, Saturday, April 6, 2013.
Fellow firefighters carry the body of fallen firefighter Capt. Michael Goodwin at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, Saturday, April 6, 2013. AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek
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