In the predawn hours of July 4, a small, blue house just outside Binghamton, New York, caught fire. James Sitek, chief of the West Colesville Fire Company, was one of the firefighters who responded to the blaze. Shortly after emerging from the building, he went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at the hospital later that day. The following week, more than 200 people attended Sitek’s funeral. New York Governor Kathy Hochul had ordered American flags on government buildings across the