Woodinville Firefighter Matt Durham's Memorial

A Woodinville firefighter has lost his life because of the years he spent saving others.

Matt Durham died from melanoma of the liver Thursday with his family and fellow firefighters surrounding his hospital bedside. The chief ordered all flags at Woodinville's four fire stations lowered to half staff.

"The thing I remember most about him, or am going to miss, is just his smile," said Lt. Tim Bollinger. "He'd walk into a room and he'd just light it up. And he was a big man. A big, strong man."

Durham, 45, thought it was just a persistent hernia. But when a doctor took a look, they spotted the cancer.

"It was hard losing him," said Paul Shindelar with Woodinville Fire & Rescue. "He was a good friend."

Durham is Woodinville Fire & Rescue's first crewmember to die in the line of duty. He led the department's hazardous material team, and the risks he took on his 15 years on the job, coupled with toxic nature of firefighting, ultimately cost him his life.

"And if they die as a result of that, then that death is formally adopted as a line of duty death, as was the case with Matt," said David Weed with Woodinville Fire & Rescue.

Durham's equipment still hangs at the station house, but firefighters gave the helmet to his wife and two boys who are 11 and 9 years old.

"So I used to love listening to Matt's stories about his kids playing baseball," Bollinger said. "And he even got into coaching his boys."

Durham was also an avid photojournalist, and had many of his pictures published in the West Seattle Herald.

"He sold a lot of his photos and he was constantly doing that," Shindelar said. "But he was a really good photographer."

A public memorial service is now in the works and they hope to announce plans on Monday.

Donations can be made to the Woodinville Firefighters Benevolent Fund, the Matt Durham Family Trust at any Bank of America branch, or at www.donate1dollartostopcancer.com

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[SamAndVTV]

;(  'nuff said

[cjboffoli]

Peter: A beautifully shot and edited video package. Nicely done.