Why flags will be half-staff this weekend in Connecticut

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Flags in Connecticut will be lowered to half-staff on Sunday to honor a fallen North Haven firefighter who will be memorialized at the national level.

Anthony DeSimone, 50, collapsed last summer and died after working a 30-hour shift. An autopsy was not conducted to determine his cause of death. However, an announcement from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation states that he died from a heart attack.

DeSimone was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Friday that he was ordering for the flags on state buildings to be lowered in order for the memorial.

“This annual observance is an opportunity for everyone in our state and our nation to pay tribute to the firefighters who risk their lives out of a sense of protection for their fellow neighbors,” Lamont said in a written announcement. “It takes a special kind of person to become a firefighter, who is willing to risk injury to help save lives and property. We also honor the families of firefighters, who make many sacrifices over the course of their loved one’s service. I am thankful to every firefighter who is protecting our communities, and I honor all the heroes we lost in the line of duty.”

DeSimone will be one of 89 firefighters who died in 2023 who will be honored on Saturday and Sunday at the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend will also honor 137 firefighters who died in previous years.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.