Displays of U.S. flags are welcome for the remembrance, the Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team said.
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. — The body of Boone County Assistant Chief Matt Tobben was escorted back to his hometown of Union on Tuesday, a day after he died during a water rescue early Monday morning.
Tobben was working alongside a Columbia firefighter during a water rescue operation when the boat they were on overturned. Tobben was thrown from the boat and drowned.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Boone County assistant fire chief drowns during water rescue Monday
Tobben was 42 years old. He leaves behind two sons aged 13 and 9. Assistant chief Gale Blomenkamp told 5 On Your Side that no GoFundMe, donation or scholarship fundraisers have been set up yet, but should be in a week or so.
“There were people between here and Columbia for 100 miles at every overpass in every small town in streets that we drove through,” Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp told 5 On Your Side. “Emergency services, people waving flags. That’s what it’s about. It’s very moving and very touching.”
Those who knew Tobben best in Boone County said you couldn’t have a more credentialed person in a capsized boat.
“He not only helped people here in Union for 19 years and people across the state of Missouri for 12, but people across the country,” Blomenkamp said. “If there was someone that we were going to put on a boat to do that rescue Monday morning, it was him. He was the guy that had the training.”
So does Randy Sanders, a close friend of Tobben’s who did water rescues with him for 12 years. Sanders is the task force leader for Missouri Task Force 1 and an Incident Support Team member.
Sanders was unable to attend the funeral procession on Tuesday but spoke with 5 On Your Side’s Annie Krall over the phone about losing the man who helped him save lives.
“I can’t tell you how that makes you feel,” Sanders said. “It’s been a hard day.”
Firefighters from Union and Boone County will remember him as ‘one of the best of the best.’
“He came through like a champ like he always would,” Sanders said. “He would never tell you no. He would always make sure his team was well-trained and ready to go. He’d be out the door at a moment’s notice.”
Blomenkamp discussed at the funeral procession how Tobben’s two young sons will now have to grow up without a father because of the flash flooding.
“Even the little boy said, ‘Why didn’t my dad shed his life jacket?” Blomenkamp said. “He taught us that if we’re in trouble to get that thing off of us. So that’s what makes me really think that, that’s what occurred. Chief Tobben did everything he could to get out of that nasty situation that he was in.”
The Union Fire Protection District, which Tobben served for 16 years before transferring to the Boone County Fire Protection District, said he will be deeply missed.
The local International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) union chapter also shared their grief over Tobben’s death, saying he served with distinction while protecting the community.
“IAFF Local 2665 extends its deepest condolences to Chief Tobben’s family, friends and colleagues,” the Professional Firefighters of Eastern Missouri IAFF chapter said. “He will be remembered fondly by all who had the privilege of working alongside him.”
Tobben’s death was reportedly the second flooding-related drowning in Boone County in the last week. According to KOMU, the other drowning occurred when a woman was in a car that was swept away by floodwaters on July 3.
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