Colleagues share fond memories of Corey Comperatore

BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- Buffalo Township's fire chief tells KDKA-TV that Corey Comperatore, the spectator who was killed in a shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday, loved three things: God, his family, and his dogs.

He also loved his community, volunteering at the Buffalo Township Fire Department for decades.

Black bunting hung over the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire House. It's also on one of the trucks, along with Corey Comperatore's stall.

It's a way to honor when his death is so hard to grasp for his family and colleagues.

"[It's] just one of those things you're trying to run it back through your mind... how and why it happened," said Craig Cirrincione, Second Lieutenant of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company.

Comperatore was killed at Saturday's rally for former President Trump. People described him as selfless, words Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro echoed today.

" Corey died a hero ," Shapiro said. "That he dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally. Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing."

Comperatore gave himself to his community for years. He joined the department in 1994, serving as fire chief for a little while in the early 2000s.

When his colleagues heard the heroic way in which his life ended, they were not surprised.

"Not in the slightest," Cirrincione said. "It wouldn't even surprise me if it was a complete stranger he was doing it for."

Cirrincione said he's baffled someone would take someone's life in the name of politics. He said the way his firehouse brother lived was a lesson for all of us.

"I want people to understand that he was a man of love and not hate," he said. "And that's what we need to pursue right now."

The fire chief said the department will keep honoring him in the coming weeks.