Charlotte Fire Dept. bagpipers command attention at the St. Paddy’s Parade, firefighter funerals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The sound of bagpipes will once again set the tone at the Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Sunday.

The Charlotte Fire Department’s Pipes and Drums Band is often a comfort blanket on happy occasions, and times of grief.

“It is a haunting sound,” says pipe major David Thornburg, who breathes life into an instrument that touches people to the core. “It just chills them to the bone.”

At CFD headquarters, many pictures of heroism are framed on the walls. Faces change, but the job is the same; they rush toward the flames in times of crisis.

In the 1800s, Scotch-Irish immigrants brought something powerful to the table. Somber bagpipe salutes eventually became a fire service tradition.

Thornburg was a Charlotte firefighter for 29 years. He’s retired but still plays a meaningful role.

“It’s a calling for me,” Thornburg told Queen City News.

In the company of musical friends, the band packs an emotional punch.

“The pipes and drums are a tradition in the fire service,” said Thornburg.

He was a founding member of the CFD Pipes and Drums, which started in 2003. The tartan they wear is registered in Scotland. A woven sample is preserved in their National Records.

“People know the bagpipes and they are just drawn to them,” says Austin Ely, band manager and drum sergeant.

That’s the effect, whether it’s at parades or the Coca-Cola 600. Mark Boesmiller is the Pipe Major.

“A sense of solemness, or excitement, exuberance to whatever event that you’re playing,” says pipe sergeant Mark Boesmiller.

Of all the band’s appearances, there is nothing more poignant than paying homage to a fellow firefighter at their funeral.

“I know if I go to it and attend the funerals, when I hear the pipers that is the hardest sound to hear. When they play Amazing Grace it kind of rips you to your heart,” Ely said.

They’ve played at some 100 funerals, in memory of heroes like Engineer Mark Franklin. Franklin died in 2003 from a blood clot after an injury in the line of duty.

A few years ago, the bagpipes hummed in tribute to Jeff Hager, who died of COVID after being hospitalized with his wife.

“I think it’s a fantastic thing to do and keep the tradition alive in the fire service,” says Ely.

“Whenever a family requests the pipes and the drums, we can be right there for them,” Thornburg said.

The band also played in honor of Thornburg’s father. It was his request before he died.

“Everything, everything,” Thornburg said, describing what the request meant to him. “I told him, ‘Dad, it’s going to be hard.’ He said, ‘I know you can do it, son.’”

The melancholy music evokes a range of powerful emotions. That’s why the Pipes and Drums Band commands attention.

“The toughest firefighter will be brought to tears,” Thornburg says.

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