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The City of Federal Heights honored the life of a volunteer firefighter last week who recently lost his battle with cancer.

Joe Grein , a Brighton resident who joined the Federal Heights Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter in 2004 , succumbed to non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma on Oct. 12 . He was 28 .Federal Heights fire and police personnel, along with fire department personnel from other agencies around the metro area, held a processional Oct. 16 down 90th Avenue, past the Fire Department, City Hall, and the Police Department, and on through Thornton to the services in Brighton. Federal Heights Engine 41 acted as Grein's hearse for the processional.

Despite the cancer diagnosis, Grein worked his way through paramedic school and was a finalist for a paramedic/firefighter position with Federal Heights before he experienced a relapse of the cancer in late 2008. He was unable to continue with the application process for health reasons.

Federal Heights City Council designated Grein as an honorary career paramedic/firefighter on Oct. 6shortly before his death. Grein answered a symbolic "last call from dispatch" at about 1:15 cqp.m. on Oct. 16 before being laid to rest at Elmwood Cemetery in Brighton.

Grein is survived by his wife, Susan , and their 2-year-old son, Jacob .