Family, friends honor Puget Sound Fire Capt. Brandon Minneman

Family, friends and fellow firefighters gathered privately to celebrate the life of Capt. Brandon Minneman, 43, who died of cancer.

Puget Sound Fire honored Minneman on July 18 with a procession through Kent and a service at New Life Church in Renton. Considered a line-of-duty death due to the occupational-related cancer, Minneman received full fire service honors.

Those honors included numerous presentations to the family, from the governor’s office, the Washington Fire Chief’s Association and the International Association of Firefighters, according to a social media post by Kent-based Puget Sound Fire.

The American flag was carefully folded and presented to Abby Minneman, Brandon’s wife, and honor flags were given to their three children and Brandon’s sister.

“During the Celebration of Life, Abby shared stories about Brandon, how they met, and how much he loved his kids and how he loved spending time watching his kids sports/dance activities, trips to Silverwood in Idaho, trips to Disneyland, and building bird houses and Legos,” according to Puget Sound Fire.

Survivors include his wife, Abby, of 11 years, and his children, Makenna, 15; Ben, 10; and Elli, 7.

Minneman, a 17-year veteran of Puget Sound Fire, died June 24 of synovial sarcoma. It is a rare type of cancer that tends to occur near large joints, mainly the knees and usually affects young adults, according to mayoclinic.org.

The Kent Fire Department (now Puget Sound Fire) hired Minneman in 2008. He was a member of the Hazardous Materials Response Team for four years and was promoted to captain in 2020. He was assigned to Station 83 in Maple Valley.

Puget Sound Fire serves Covington, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac, Tukwila and King County Fire Districts 37 and 43.

Minneman began his fire service career as a volunteer with the McLane Fire and Life Safety in Thurston County Fire District 9 and with Littlerock Fire and Rescue in Thurston County Fire District 11.

Prior to becoming a firefighter, Minneman served in the Army with the 62nd Medical Brigade from August 1999 to December 2003.

“While Brandon will be missed, we all have a piece of him in our hearts and he will never be forgotten,” according to a Puget Sound Fire statement.

Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.