Thousands attend city memorial for 2 fallen firefighters

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of people attended a memorial service for two Kansas City firefighters who died early last week when a building collapsed while they were helping to fight a fire.

Fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters from across the country lined the street in front of the Sprint Center on Saturday before the service for Larry Leggio and John Mesh. The veteran firefighters died Monday when a three-story building collapsed in northeast Kansas City.

Fire chief Paul Beradi thanked the men's families for their sacrifice and vowed they would never be forgotten.

The Kansas City Star reported the families also received Medals of Valor from the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Leggio was a 17-year veteran and fire apparatus operator of Truck 2. Mesh was a 13-year-veteran firefighter with Pumper 10.