Michael Stavola
The Wichita Eagle
(TNS)
Aug. 9—Wichita firefighters at Station 5 named a red-haired stray cat that showed up at their station Ty after their red-haired coworker, Ty Voth.
They fed it table scraps, but it would never let anyone near.
Finally, the 27-year-old decided he would make that cat like him. His persistence paid off. The cat purred and let him hold it, but just one time.
“I told you, I told you,” Voth told the one person who witnessed the act. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want them to think I am getting soft.”
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That was one of the many stories shared about Voth, who died fighting an Aug. 1 house fire, during his funeral Friday at Park City Arena, formerly called Hartman Arena.
A fire union official estimated 700 people attended. Roughly 900 people watched online. A long procession, which included many area firefighters, left from the arena and went to Whitewater Cemetery, where he will be buried.
Along the route, people and fire officials from other departments lined the street, many saluting and holding American flags.
The cause of Voth’s death is still being investigated, pending carbon monoxide and toxicology results that could take weeks.
Stories told about Voth at the funeral remembered him as ultra competitive, an outdoors lover, ornery and an elite and passionate firefighter. Micah Hydeman, his former captain when Voth worked at the Manhattan Fire Department between 2017 and 2019, called him a five-star recruit when comparing firefighting to athletics.
“He mastered it all. He did not accept self limitations, he did not accept mediocrity,” Hydeman said, adding he knew when Voth was in academy how good he’d be and started recruiting him then for his station. “Over the 5,760 hours we spent together, I witnessed a true American firefighter, a person who would never hesitate to answer the call of duty, a person that would sacrifice his welfare for the stranger. … His impact has resulted in many lives saved, in many homes and structures still standing and livable today.”
Others, especially his mother, Angie, painted a softer side of Voth: a lover of animals who was unable to watch movies about horses or dogs being hurt and who planted many flowers to match his home.
Letters from family and friends were read by a representative from the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department, which did that to support the Wichita Fire Department while firefighters grieved the loss.
Voth transferred to the Wichita department in 2019 to be closer to family and fight more fires in a bigger city.
“There was never any mercy when it came to teasing. Anything and anyone was fair game” the speaker said, reading his mother’s letter. “I will miss your bear hugs. I will miss your belly laughs … I know you’re surrounded by God’s love. Please meet me at the pearly gates when I arrive.”
The speaker wiped his eyes.
Voth is also survived by his father, Chad, and three siblings. He is preceded in death by multiple family members and by his hunting dog, Mossy Girl.
Instead of writing a eulogy, his brother, Nic, said he wrote the speech he would have given as his best man at the wedding he never had.
The speaker again wiped his eyes.
He wrote about his brother rough playing with him “sun up to sun down” but also someone he admired and looked up to, even enough to go hunting with him in the cold.
“I hated being out there in the cold and snow, but it was worth it to get some time with my big brother,” he wrote, adding Ty also taught him the “most efficient way” to make their mom mad. “You taught me how to be tough and keep my head up, how to bandage my wounds physically and emotionally. Most importantly, you taught me how to take care of our loved ones.”
Ty Voth’s big sister, Riley, wrote how in five days she would be celebrating 28 years of having a brother, something she was always proud of.
She said she knew “Mossy Girl had butt wiggles when she saw you” in heaven.
His younger sister, Lindsey, said he was like a big brother but also a father.
“Everyone knew not to mess with me” because they knew who my brother was, she wrote.
She added: “I was always so proud and fond of you … I cannot wait to make you proud because I know you have high expectations of me.”
Friends wrote letters telling stories about how competitive he was and how hard a hitter he was in football. Even in fifth grade, he intimidated one friend with his big neck brace.
Another friend wrote how courageous and brave Voth was.
“You never backed down from a challenge. Firefighting is what you loved to do,” he wrote. I’m grateful I got to grow up by your side. You died a hero and I will never be the same again. I hope they have some good hunting up there, buddy.”
The Kansas City fire official said, based on talking with lots of coworkers recently, other words that came up to describe Voth were “talking trash and smart aleck” but also hard working, passionate and a firefighter’s firefighter.
He said one positive he’s seen lately, is how close he’s seen fire crews be together the last week, hugging each other and telling each other they love one another.
A lieutenant over Voth wrote that, although he had only been with the fire department five years and seven years total in firefighting, his ability was “comparable to a way more veteran fireman.”
The last call for Ty Voth went out over the 911 emergency communications scanner traffic at around 11:18 a.m.
“Attention all units. Attention all units. Stand by for the final call for firefighter Ty Voth … Dispatch to firefighter 1348. Dispatch to firefighter Ty Voth, 1348. There is no response from firefighter Ty Voth. Firefighter Ty Voth has completed his final alarm and returned home. His bravery, dedication and service will never be forgotten. Firefighter Ty Voth, you are clear to go home. We have it from here. May you rest in eternal peace.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2024, 1:01 PM.
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