Wife still grieves loss of husband, firefighter killed during Hurricane Helene: 'Take it day by day'

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) -- Hurricane Helene took the lives of more than 100 people in North Carolina. One of those deaths was a firefighter with the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, Battalion Chief Tony Garrison.

He lost his life while trying to save others during Helene. His wife, Mary Garrison, says that the tragic day is still fresh in her mind a year later.

"The fear that I felt that day is still there, it's still there. I hope in time it goes away, it's almost crimpling," Garrison said.

Garrison shared with ABC11's Diane Wilson that while the loss of her husband is unimaginable, she takes some comfort in knowing her husband died saving others. "I had no clue that would be the last time that I saw him because it didn't occur to me. It's like I've been his wife for 28 years, and, you know, he's been in the fire service for most of that."

Garrison says Tony was not only a devoted husband and father but also dedicated to his job, and that was evident more than ever on September 27th, 2024, the day Helene hit the community where they live, known as Craigtown. Garrison said, "He grabbed his coat, and he does what he does. He was gone."

Garrison says she and Tony were at home with their two grown children, Dylan and Hannah, when the wrath of Helene started. "We actually stood in our front door and watched the slide start. We heard trees falling or what sounded like trees falling, and I thought something was going to fall on the house." She says Tony ran out the front door to save family members who lived in houses below his, where he could see the landslide hit their homes. Garrison says she saw her husband rescue his cousin's wife from her home, and then the Garrisons' son Dylan and nephew Brandon Ruppe went with Tony to help rescue others in their community.

"I saw him and my son, and my nephew go down the hill to his cousin's house, that was the last time we saw them." Right before her eyes, she says another landslide, "All of a sudden, all you could see was just it was like the hand of God. I mean, trees, you could see them falling and then, you know, all of a sudden, it just broke out of the side of that mountain, water, mud, rocks, trees, massive roots."

The landslides wiped out more homes in Craigtown. Garrison adds, "The next thing that I do remember is that we were told that my husband, my son, and my nephew had all passed. I hit my knees because I couldn't, I just couldn't believe it. I happened to look out her door, and I saw movement, and I realized that somebody had somebody on their back, and they had a red coat on. I remember thinking that my son had a red coat on, and I just stood up. I remember running down the road, and saying, 'Was it Dylan, my son, and I couldn't get out the words, is he dead?' They are like he's alive, and we've got to get him out of this cold, you know, because he had been caught up in the landslide."

She says Dylan was covered in mud, but alive. "I wrapped myself around him, and I remember saying, 'Please don't die." While Garrison stayed with her son, she says her mind was still thinking about her husband. "I was very much torn because that's your husband, that you've been told multiple times that he didn't make it. I felt like if I could have gone to him, I would have, but I also knew I had to be with Dylan because he needed me," Garrison said.

Tony and his nephew Brandon Ruppe, and nine other members of the Craig extended family, all died in Craigtown due to the destruction of Helene. Dylan survived and, while pretty banged up, had no major injuries. Since Helene, Garrison says Dylan has been able to share those last moments with his dad. She says Dylan told her, "We heard a noise, and we looked and his dad said, 'Run,' and he said there was just no time. He said, 'We took three, maybe four steps, and our feet were just swept out from under us.' I know for a while he said, 'I think I ran the wrong way', and I told him, "Dylan, that can't be true because you were all three together, because we were told when they found them together, when they found Dylan, his dad had his arm around him. So, in some way, Tony saved two lives that day."

Since that day, Garrison says a day does not go by that she doesn't think of her husband of 28 years. "He loved his family, and he had some of the funniest sayings and the most unique laugh, and he loved to work in his woodshop," she added. She also says the support they've received since her husband's death, especially from his fire department, has been amazing. "I cannot say thank you enough to the men and women of his fire department because, I mean, I know he was their brother, but I became their sister because they took care of me and they took care of my kids at a time when we didn't know what our future looked like, other than it was just dark."

While this last year has been so tough, Garrison, along with her kids, traveled to Maryland when Tony was honored at the National Fallen Firefighters' Memorial. She adds, "The way that they honored him, as well as all the others, was amazing to see. It was very hard to see his name, but I was glad that I was there for that." Tony was also honored at the North Carolina Fallen Fire Fighters' Memorial service. "We've been treated like family everywhere we've gone," Garrison said.

As for their son Dylan, who was with his dad the day he lost his life, he is now following in his father's footsteps, graduating from the fire academy and many of Tony's co-workers at the fire department were with Dylan for that special day.

As for Garrison, "I just take it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. I'm still trying to navigate being a widow." She did get a tattoo so she could always have a piece of Tony with her, as it's his thumbprint in the shape of a heart.

She says it's a way to always feel that her husband is close to her, despite being taken too soon from her.