ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — On July 28, 2011, Asheville Fire Department Captain Jeff Bowen lost his life while responding to an arson fire. AFD firefighters, city officials, Bowen’s family members and members of the public gathered for the 15th annual remembrance ceremony of the fire captain.
15th Annual Captain Jeff Bowen Line of Duty Death Remembrance Ceremony
Background
Bowen was killed in the line of duty while fighting an arson fire on July 28, 2011, at 445 Biltmore Ave. near downtown Asheville.
“Units from the Asheville Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm activation at 445 Biltmore Avenue. Engine 2 arrived to find an active fire on the fifth floor of the medical office building and immediately commenced firefighting operations,” detailed John Harbin, AFD communication specialist. “The event marked one of the darkest days in the department’s history, resulting in injuries to more than a dozen firefighters and the tragic loss of Rescue 3 Captain Jeffrey Scott Bowen.”
However, the loss was not all in vain.
“Today, the Asheville Fire Department continues to share the lessons learned from this incident to educate firefighters and Chief Officers across the nation,” Harbin said.
According to former AFD Fire Chief Scott Burnette, the tragedy was the impetus for innovation in air management, or the length of time firefighters have to breathe in the event of a fire.
“The fire service approached air management very differently prior to Captain Bowen’s tragic death. The Asheville Fire Department, in Jeff’s honor, took it upon themselves to find, what are better ways to manage air while you’re trying to save lives?” Burnette explained. “The Asheville firefighters that were working on that came up with innovative ways to manage air during large building fires, and that was shared across the entire country and is something that departments do.”
Today’s ceremony
The ceremony was held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 28, at Asheville Fire Station 3, 50 Oregon Ave., Asheville, N.C.
In remarks to the crowd, which included Asheville City Councilmember Bo Hess, AFD Fire Chief Mike Cayse reflected on Bowen’s legacy.
“Many of us crossed the Bowen Bridge to get here today. Our firefighters carry on their duties using lifesaving techniques borne from the lessons of Jeff’s sacrifice. We are all safer today because of the evolution of our tactics that followed his loss,” Cayse said. “His impact is measured in lives protected by those changes. Now, in 2026, 15 years after that defining event, we gather not as mere observers or interested citizens, but as a family. We come together as a family to honor one of our own.”
After Cayse’s address, attending firefighters stood at attention for the “striking of the three threes,” a centuries-old bell ceremony that renders final honors for firefighters.
Burnette hopes that the Asheville community will continue to remember Bowen for “just what an incredible human he was.”
“He was always looking at making things better, whether it was here at the fire station, whether it was our fire department, whether it was our community,” Burnette said.
Burnette said that Bowen was an enthusiastic participant in water activities and water rescue, which connected him to local youth through different fire department programs.
“I know many of those kids looked at Captain Bowen and said, ‘I want to be him one day,'” Burnette said. “He truly was a good person, a mentor and a hero.”
Further investigation
Though investigators suspect that the fire Bowen perished in was an act of arson, “a suspect was never identified despite years of ongoing investigation,” said Harbin.
The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has overseen the investigation. 828newsNOW reached out to the ATF for comment on the status of the investigation.
