January 26th — Richmond, RI — On the third anniversary of Firefighter Robert Thomas Gardner Jr.'s death in the line of duty, members of the Richmond-Carolina Fire District and adjacent departments paused to honor him. Gardner, 55, has long served the community and has previously served as Deputy Chief. Gardner helped put apparatus and equipment back into action during a residential structure fire on January 25, 2023. He later came home and died throughout the night from an apparent heart attack. His death was classified as a line-of-duty loss.