Kevin Williams Glenn Williams said after his son died while fighting a house fire for the Noonday Volunteer Fire Department he began to see the true meaning of a volunteer.

Although Williams does not know what to expect day to day with his loss, he now has a respect for the volunteer firefighters he did not have before.

"Firefighters never know when the go in if they're coming out," Williams said. "And these guys do it for free."

On Aug 3. firefighters, family and the noonday community sought to praise and celebrate two firefighters, Kevin Williams and Austin Cheek, who died in a house fire one year ago.

If there is one message that family and friends want the public to understand, it is that firefighters across Smith County and Texas are risking their lives everyday to save life and property. And instead of being in mourning, the big crowd paid tribute and celebrated the firefighters' lives.

The death of Williams and Cheek brought a community together and brought families together, volunteer firefighter Raylene Yates said.

Austin Cheek "We mourned this time last year, but we celebrate and pay tribute," Yates said. "We suffered a tragic loss and our hearts will always ache for them. But we can rejoice in knowing they are watching over us on every call."

Rick Cheek, Austin's father, said the celebration was intended to bring closure to his family and memorialize "these heroes" who were just trying to do the right thing.

"They were doing what's right and doing what they needed to do," Cheek said, who was also a volunteer firefighter. "But sometimes when you do what is right, you fall short."

Amanda Williams, 20, said the memorial was to honor her dad and Cheek.

"I'm hoping by doing this we can get people to understand services they do," she said. "Firefighters are doing a service and people need to understand it's not a pay job."