OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Relatives of late firefighter Larenzo Garnet Douse proudly participated in a ceremony to rename the Ocho Rios Fire Station in his honour Thursday, but it was a bittersweet moment. Three hundred and sixty-five days had passed since his death, but for them it was as if time stood still.

It has been particularly difficult for his mother, Aletha Brown, who was moved to tears as she listened to the heartfelt tributes to her deceased child.

“It feels very good to know that my son’s legacy is being honoured, but I still miss my son. I wish I could hold him again,” she said as tears trickled down her cheeks.

“I spoke with him minutes before he died and he said, ‘Mommy, I love you,’ and hung up. When I got home off the road and checked my phone I saw 15 missed call from his father, which was strange. When I called back he said Larenzo died. I said it can’t be because I just talk to him. It is so rough and I miss my son very much, but I have to be strong,” she said.

Douse’s sister, Samantha Henry, was equally torn between pride in seeing her sibling being lauded and the knowledge that she will never see him again.

“It’s a good move to see my brother being honoured, we feel pleased about it. We still miss him dearly, even though it was a year it feels like it was yesterday,” she said.

Douse, who died at age 25, was the second firefighter to die while in the line of duty since the amalgamation of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) in 1957.

During Thursday’s ceremony Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie urged his family to take great pride in knowing that their loved one had served his country well.

“I want to encourage his family to be resolute in preserving his image and the legacy that he has created. We want to celebrate his life and things that he accomplished. He was a success,” said McKenzie.

Douse was crushed by a car that reportedly overtook a line of traffic and slammed into the back of a parked fire truck as he was replacing equipment. The incident took place in the vicinity of the Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios, St Ann.

The building that houses the Ocho Rios Fire Station, where he was assigned at the time, has been renamed the Larenzo Garnet Douse Memorial Building. McKenzie joined members of the St Ann Municipal Corporation for the official renaming ceremony on Thursday.

“I decided that, whatever we do, we must allow the family and colleagues to understand and appreciate that the life of their loved one was not just blown away in vain. It was my intention to have this building renamed in his honour,” said the minister.

“Not just rename the building but to also renovate it and make it appropriate to bear his name for generations to come,” he added.

The St Ann’s Bay Municipal Corporation passed a motion to rename the building in January.

“We trust that this remarkable initiative to memorialise a once-vibrant firefighter on the anniversary of his passing will be a preservation of his legacy and remind us that a great firefighter will live on in our hearts and memories,” said deputy mayor of St Ann’s Bay, Dallas Dickenson.

Douse enrolled in the JFB in 2017 at only 19 years old. His dream was to carry on a family tradition started by his father Garnet Douse, now an assistant superintendent, who has dedicated several years to the brigade.

Fire Brigade Commissioner Stewart Beckford, who was also in attendance at Thursday’s ceremony, was pleased by the efforts to preserve the young firefighter’s legacy.

“It is quite fitting that this station be renamed in his honour so that his sacrifices will be remembered for years to come,” said Stewart.

During the ceremony a display was also mounted at the station bearing the names of other firefighters who died while being active members of the brigade. They are Alex Williams, Stefan Walters, and Lynford Hendricks.

“We are grateful that we were able to call them colleagues and friends. We hope that you will embrace the venture as we collectively attempt to show our appreciation for the time they spent with us and the sacrifices they made for their country,” Stewart said.