Celebration of life honors fallen Camden firefighter Howard Bennett

Camden firefighter Howard Bennett was laid to rest Wednesday, nearly one week after the 60-year-old died after falling into the icy Delaware River.

In the morning, a procession escorted Bennett's casket — carried by a fire truck — to the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey, for a private viewing with family and friends, followed by a public celebration of life service.

Hundreds of firefighters and first responders from around the state attended the ceremony to pay their respects to Bennett, who served as a firefighter for 26 years.

"This is not where we want to be," Camden Fire Chief Jesse Flax said after the memorial service. "But this is how we do to honor them."

Bennett was trying to board a fireboat at the Wiggins Park Marina for a routine inspection on Feb. 5 when he fell into the water. Flax said Bennett spent about 30 minutes under the ice before firefighters pulled him out of the river.

"He was the guy that everybody could count on," said David Hines, vice president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey. "If they needed something fixed in the firehouse, they had difficult times, he was the guy they counted on. The fireboat was his baby, is what they tell us."

Bennett, who lived in Maple Shade, New Jersey, was described by those who knew him as a loving husband and father to two children, and as someone who was always there to lend a hand.

"He was Mr. Fix-it," said Flax. "He was that guy. He'd give you the shirt off his back and help you out as much as he possibly can."

"Knowing him for the long time that I've known him here, he will sadly be missed," Pete Perez, president of the Camden firefighters union, said in the days following Bennett's death. "I'm devastated to the core."

Camden City Mayor Victor Carstarphen ordered flags to fly at half-staff at municipal buildings in honor of Bennett, and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has ordered flags lowered across the state.

"This is about honoring him, being there for his family, understanding the solemnity of the situation right now," Carstarphen said.