On what would have been his 41st birthday, Ralston Fire Chief Kyle Ienn was remembered Saturday as a visionary leader and dedicated community servant at funeral services held at Ralston High School.
Ienn was found dead at 69th and Pine streets in Omaha on Jan. 31 of an apparent suicide.
Saturday, more than 1,200 people, including firefighters and emergency medical personnel from some two dozen fire departments across Nebraska and from as far away as Chicago and Milwaukee braved a winter storm to pay their last respects.
Public officials including Ralston's state senator, Steve Lathrop, U.S. Representative Lee Terry and Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy were also in attendance, reflecting the levels of community service in which Ienn worked.
"It's said that in public service, you put the public good above personal gain," Ralston Mayor Don Groesser said in eulogizing Ienn. "In serving Ralston, Kyle did just that. We will always remember the modest, decent, natural way he went about his service and the community will always be grateful for his service."
A 22-year veteran of the Ralston Volunteer Fire Department, Ienn served the last 12 years as RVFD chief.
He was also active in several national and international organizations related to the fire service, including the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Council on Fireworks Safety and the National Honor Guard Commanders Association.
Dave Shively, longtime RVFD member and commander of the RVFD Honor Guard, knew Ienn from the chief's youth in Ralston. A Ralston Public Works employee, Shively said Ienn was always fascinated by the projects on which city crews worked.
"He would follow us all over the city," Shively said. "Every job we did, there was little Kyle Ienn.
"One day, I asked him if he wanted to take a ride in the dump truck and his eyes just lit up. Pretty soon he was following us on fire calls."
After Ienn joined the department and eventually became chief in 2000, he called on Shively, then retired from RVFD, to take part in the new honor guard Ienn was creating for the department.
Shively quickly learned that Ienn's vision for the honor guard extended well beyond parades and observances in Ralston and before long, the RVFD Honor Guard was taking part in lengthy drill sessions and formal ceremonies across the nation, including the last nine years at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland.
"And instead of me hauling him in the dump truck, there he was, hauling me," Shively said.
As part of his efforts with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Ienn worked on the Everyone Goes Home Program as a state representative from Nebraska.
In that capacity, Ienn worked with state officials on legislation and advocacy, one of whom was Sheehy.
"We are a very grateful community, state and nation for what Kyle did in his professional life," Sheehy said. "When we worked together on Everyone Goes Home, we dealt with a lot of difficult situations. He was always the first there to help. He had a calming effect on everyone. In Nebraska, we pride ourselves on service and Kyle exemplified service."
Closer to home, Ienn was instrumental in securing grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to grow his department to 56 members in 2011 - the largest the RVFD had ever been.
At the conclusion of the service and with the snow falling harder outside, Ralston and La Vista firefighters lined the entrance to Ralston High School as Ienn's casket, draped in purple, was loaded onto one of RVFD's antique fire engines for the trip to Calvary Cemetery at 72nd and Mercy streets.
Ladder trucks from the Papillion and La Vista fire departments extended their apparatuses in a salute as a steady stream of fire engines from area departments created a long red line en route to the cemetery.
Larry Forman, a friend of Ienn's and legal counsel for RVFD said Ienn was a consummate booster of all things related to his hometown.
"The guy was just amazing," Forman said.
"Look at his life and what he did. He was at the forefront of everything in this community. He was a spokesman. Anytime we had a problem, you had this young, articulate spokesman to tell you about it."
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