Visitation is set for today in eastern Missouri’s Union for fallen Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief Matthew Tobben, who drowned Monday morning after rescuing two pedestrians during flash flooding in the Bear creek.
Boone County Fire assistant chief Gale Blomenkamp tells reporters that the Mr. Tobben was a 19-year veteran of the Union fire department in Franklin County, before starting the Columbia job in May:
“The people in Union yesterday (Tuesday) when we stopped to eat lunch was just so supportive. And they’ve never met us, they don’t know us but they know Matt. And if Matt was a part of this organization, it says a lot about our organization being able to attract a man of that quality to come to work for us. So that means a lot,” Blomenkamp says.
Mr. Tobben had also served as a Missouri Task Force One member since 2012.
Assistant chief Blomenkamp tells reporters that the support from the community in mid-Missouri and in Union means a lot:
“It helps us move forward. We have a job to do, and this job doesn’t end because of the tragedy on Monday morning. We continued to work incidents on Monday. Tuesday morning, almost 24 hours later we were dispatched to another water rescue on Route Z,” says Blomenkamp.
First responders and civilians packed I-70 and Highway 47 overpasses between Columbia and Union during Tuesday’s procession, with many carrying American flags.
You’ll see countless fire trucks and American flags on your way to Saturday morning’s funeral in Union. Visitation for Mr. Tobben is today from 3-8 pm at Oltmann Funeral Home in Union. There will be bagpipes at tomorrow morning’s funeral, and hundreds of firefighters and civilians from throughout Missouri and several other Midwestern states will attend. Tomorrow’s funeral is at 11 am at East Central College. Burial will be private.