DALLAS — Fire stations were lit red across the nation to honor fallen firefighters as part of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. Sunday, the lives of 82 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2019 and 21 who died in previous years were honored during America’s Tribute to Fallen Firefighters.

Dallas Fire-Rescue honored Captain Randell Willmon and Lieutenant John Blume, (who died respectively in 2018 and 2019 from Cancer) during this year’s Light the Night event.

In May 2019, the Blume family lost a husband, a father and a hero when John Blume died from lung cancer after 34 years with DFR. His son, Jesse Blume says the way the nation honored fallen firefighters by “lighting the night” was a lovely sentiment. He said it’s his belief that firefighting is the most respected civil service.

"Firefighters, their lives and their workplace are our nightmares. And it takes a certain kind of person to be able to endure that position as long as he did and excel, and he most definitely did,” Jesse Blume said. “He got to see the absolute worst sides of humanity, but also the absolute best as well. He got to deliver no less than 10 children in the back of an ambulance and he even managed to bring people back from the dead occasionally.”

John Blume struggled with stage four lung cancer for about three and a half years up until he passed last year, six weeks after officially retiring. According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population. Among the cancers mostly responsible for this risk were lung and mesothelioma.

"We're finding out more and more that firefighters are at an increased risk of lung cancer, which that's precisely what he had, because it was occupational lung cancer. The mask only blocks so much,” Jesse Blume said. "It's a terrible thing to say but since he contracted the cancer from the smoke and the toxins that you find in a fire, he was killed by his own heroism. Which is a terrible and ugly thing to say but it's the truth."

Lt. Blume’s death was recognized as a line of duty death, and his name is forever etched in stone at the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado.

"I once asked him if he wanted me to be a firefighter and he went ‘heck no.’ I want you to be a doctor or a lawyer,” Jesse Blume said. “He did an excellent job keeping the darkness of his position and the morbidity away from us boys until we were at the right age to understand it and once he did start sharing a few of those particular stories. I understood why he had kept that distance in that regard. He just wanted something better for us, the way any good parent will always want a better life for their particular children. It's not that he didn't think that the job was worth doing, he absolutely did. He found meaning and he loved being able to help someone. He just wanted a safer place for us boys."

Jesse Blume said his dad was a renaissance man, even holding the position of PTA president and band booster president. He was also a mentor and a coach at heart.

“He could do just about anything he set his mind to,” Jesse Blume said. "Acts of service was his love language, and he loved being able to help someone get better. And he was very passionate about mentoring the rookies and making sure that they learned and got trained up."

Lt. Blume spoke a couple months before his passing at Fire Station 36, which was considered his home. It was his retirement ceremony, where he could say his final goodbyes and thank his family.

“It’s been a very, very good career,” Lt. Blume said in the video. "And I just want to thank Micki for being there and my boys for being very good boys.”