Tom Latham: “I rise today to honor two fallen heroes from Albert City, Iowa. Tom Archer and Larry Walsh, both volunteer firefighters…”

“I rise today to honor two fallen heroes from Albert City, Iowa. Tom Archer and Larry Walsh, both volunteer firefighters with the Albert City Fire Department, were taken from us in the line of duty on April 9. They were fighting a propane tank fire when an unexpected and horrific explosion claimed their lives. The explosion also injured six other firefighters and a deputy sheriff. Both of these men were true heroes in every sense of the word. Between them they had served for nearly 30 years as volunteer firefighters to protect the lives and the property of their neighbors, their families and their communities. Larry Walsh and Tom Archer volunteered because they cared. They volunteered because they cared enough to risk their lives whenever called upon. They volunteered because they cared enough to interrupt their jobs, their meals and their precious time with their families. They volunteered because they cared about protecting the property, the safety and the lives of their neighbors in times of need, a need that could have arisen at any time in the day or night or any day of the year. Tom Archer and Larry Walsh were two of the Nation's finest volunteer firefighters, a group of men and women who inspire so many by the brave actions they take in and for their communities.”