Widow of Columbus Fire Department wants to start a conversation to save lives

Widow of Columbus firefighter remembers husband, talks need for mental health awareness

WBNS 10 News
Bryant Somerville
March 20, 2019

Eight years of dating and a five-month engagement led Katie-Jean and Shane Brintlinger to the middle of the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple.

Shane picked the song "More of You" by Chris Stapleton.

The day is frozen in time in pictures. They are moments Katie-Jean remembers every detail of.

They met at Otterbein University. Katie-Jean says, originally, Shane wanted to be a high school history teacher, but later changed his mind and opted for fire school. She says it was his passion.

"He would always tell me 'I thrive in those environments,'" she said. "He would say 'When I go in and people are freaking out, that's when I do my best. I can slow my mind down and think through what I need to do.'"

He worked in London, then Delaware. Then, the last five years, Brintlinger worked at the Columbus Fire Department.

"He truly loved it because he could just go after it," she said. "He loved that high speed, everything about it."

December 29, 2017, they were married. A year and two months later, Katie-Jean was at the grocery store.

"I called him to see if the asparagus was still good in our fridge," she said. "Well, he didn't answer."

A picture shows Katie-Jean on the back of a fire engine, talking to her husband one last time at the cemetery.
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