Kevin Graeler and Charles Dunlap
Columbia Daily Tribune
(MCT)
Bryant Gladney leaves behind a legacy of serving mid-Missouri during his25 years with the Boone County Fire Protection District.
The assistant fire chief’s service extended well beyond the region and state, however.
Gladney was an original member of Missouri Task Force 1, deploying on the group’s first mission: to New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The task force, sponsored by the fire district, is one of 28 urban search and rescue teams in the United States.
Gladney, 58,was killed by a tractor-trailer last Wednesdaywhile responding to an early-morning accident on Interstate 70 east of Columbia.
Funeral events are set forMonday evening and Tuesday morning at the Hearnes Centeron the University of Missouri campus.
More:Bryant Gladney, firefighter killed Wednesday in the line of duty, ‘served very selflessly’
Bryant Gladney on responding to 9/11
Gladney, a technical team manager for the task force in 2001, was to celebrate his birthday Sept. 11, 2001, thinking he would have lunch with his wife.
“I turned on the radio and there was work to do,” Gladney told the Tribune during an interview this fall, marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. “We put it together with a tremendous volunteer effort.”
The task force had six hours after receiving a noon call to gather supplies, equipment, search dogs and more to make the trip to Whiteman Air Force Base before heading on to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
The task force brought enough equipment and supplies to be self-sustainable for at least 72 hours, Gladney said.
The trip to the base in New Jersey was eerie, Gladney recalled.
“We are flying over the United States with fighter escorts in C-130s and there is not another plane in the sky,” Gladney said. “The feeling was, being prior military, it had a very uneasy feeling that this was getting ready to become something bigger than just two buildings collapsing.”
The group was conducting searches at Ground Zero the next day.
Team leads like Gladney often were the first up and last to go to bed, making sure that other team members were OK first, said Chuck Leake, a medical team manager for the group’s 9/11 deployment.
More:How Boone County first responders remember 9/11 deployment to Ground Zero
Full fire service honors, flags at half-staff for Bryant Gladney
Gladney worked his way up the ranks in the fire district to overseeing its training bureau this year after being promoted to assistant chief in 2020.
He also served with Missouri Task Force 1 in response to Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
Tuesday’s funeral proceedings will include full fire service honors and, following the gathering, a procession will lead from the Hearnes Center to Memorial Funeral Home at 1217 Business Loop 70 West.
Gov. Mike Parson ordered U.S. and Missouri flags be flown at half-staff at all government buildings in Boone County, the Firefighter Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City and firehouses statewide from sunrise to sunset Tuesday in Gladney’s honor.
“我们都是副总Gladn深感悲痛ey tragically lost his life answering the call to assist others during an emergency,” Parson said. “Chief Gladney had devoted his career to selflessly serving the people of Boone County and the state of Missouri. He mentored the next generation of firefighters to ensure they performed their duties safely and maintained the district’s proud traditions. We are grateful for his commitment to public service and are praying for his friends and family during this difficult time.”
Gale Blomenkamp, a fellow Boone County assistant fire chief, expressed a similar sentiment just hours after he lost his colleague last week.
“He served very selflessly,” Blomenkamp said of Gladney. “He was well-known throughout the first-response community.”
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