Rostraver/West Newton paramedic laid to rest
Scott Beveridge
Lynn Lenzi Smelser thanked the overflow crowd Friday for supporting her family at the Monongahela funeral for her husband, Matt, a paramedic supervisor who was killed in the line of duty Sunday.
Scott Beveridge
Members of Rostraver/West Newton Emergency Services serve as pallbearers at the funeral Friday in Monongahela for their colleague, Matt Smelser.
Scott Beveridge
A color guard made up of members of multiple agencies flank one side of Chess Street in Monongahela Friday for the funeral of fallen paramedic supervisor Matt Smelser.
Scott Beveridge
Members of a color guard from Boston, Mass., stood silent guard Friday outside of Marshall Marra Funeral Home in Monongahela to honor paramedic supervisor Matt Smelser, who was killed on the job Sunday.
Alyssa Choiniere | 缅北禁地
Rostraver/West Newton Medic 509 carries Paramedic Supervisor Matthew Smelser to his final resting place at Monongahela Cemetery, escorted by police, EMS and firefighters from several states. Smelser was killed in the line of duty while he was treating a patient on Interstate 70 Jan. 5.
First responders from at least four states gathered in Monongahela Friday to pay their final respects to a paramedic killed in the line of duty.
For many of the hundreds that gathered, Rostraver/West Newton Emergency Services Paramedic Supervisor Matthew Smelser was an instructor, mentor and friend. The 43-year-old father of two was treating a patient on Interstate 70 when a commercial vehicle struck him Jan. 5.
鈥淛esus said, if you lose your life for my sake, I will save your life,鈥� the Rev. Richard Roberts said at his funeral.
Smelser鈥檚 casket was escorted to Rostraver West Newton Medic 509 by an honor guard to bagpipe music. His ambulance was draped with black bunting. Police, firefighters, EMS and others saluted as his casket was placed into Medic 509.
鈥淗is time on earth was not measured by his years on earth but by the way he lived,鈥� Roberts said. The funeral service was broadcast to hundreds standing outside in the rain who had come to honor and remember a man who dedicated his life to helping others.
Smelser鈥檚 wife, Lynn, leaned heavily on the arm of her escort as she saw the sea of people who came to honor her husband.
鈥淭hank you all so much,鈥� she said.
Adam Burke said many in the EMS community are devastated by the loss. Smelser was his instructor when he first became an EMT.
鈥淢att was a wonderful man and talented paramedic that selflessly dedicated his life to the community,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e left behind not only a family with two beautiful children, but a family of hundreds of first responders. Though his life was cut short due to tragedy, the memories that we shared with him will last a lifetime. Matt was a healer and he was good at it. This was evident by the numerous social media comments previous patients and family members shared. Let us, as first responders, never forget the sacrifice that Matt made and those who have fallen before us, doing what they love 鈥� serving the community.鈥�
Smelser鈥檚 influence had a wide reach. Firefighters in Washington County also knew Smelser as their EMT instructor. Brian Matthews, an EMT with Ambulance & Chair Service in Washington and Ellsworth Volunteer Fire Department said he credits Smelser with his skills in EMS.
When asked what Smelser meant to the community, he said, 鈥淭here is just so much.鈥�
Matthews will remember him as 鈥渁 great friend and a great mentor,鈥� he said.
鈥淗e was a very great instructor, a great paramedic and a great person,鈥� he said.
About 250 vehicles from departments as far as Toledo, Ohio and Braxton, West Virginia led Smelser to his final resting place, along with an honor guard from Boston, Massachusetts. Ladder trucks from Rostraver Township and Carroll Township hoisted the U.S. Honor Flag above the road as the procession made its way to Monongahela Cemetery. The flag travels around the country to honor fallen heroes.
In a ceremonial dispatch from 911, Smelser鈥檚 dedication was memorialized over emergency response radios one final time on Friday.
鈥淢atthew Smelser answered his last alarm on Jan. 5, 2020,鈥� a dispatcher read on the scanner. 鈥淧aramedic Smelser served the Rostraver/West Newton Emergency Services and community for 24 years. Paramedic Smelser will be deeply missed by his EMS community, family and friends. Paramedic Smelser completed his last alarm and has returned home safely to eternity and his final call to watch over his family, friends and EMS providers. May he protect us all from above, especially his wife, Lynn, son, Logan, and daughter, Adriana.鈥�