Beloved Corby firefighter Hilmi Say receives fitting send off

Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects to beloved firefighter Hilmi Say today (Wednesday).

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service paid tribute to Hilmi with a guard of honour at his funeral held earlier in Rothwell, as well as a procession from Corby Fire Station.

Hilmi was a much-loved member of the brigade since he joined in 2010, where he had served at Corby Fire Station ever since.

He was diagnosed with cancer in January 2022 and had been fighting it since but died aged 40 on the morning of December 23, surrounded by his family.

In the period since, the fire service has been supporting Hilmi’s wife, Victoria, and his children Brooke, 14, and Sophia, 11.

Hilmi’s funeral service was held this morning (January 24) at 11am at Rothwell Holy Trinity Parish Church, but prior to this a funeral procession left from Corby Fire Station at 10am.

He was carried by a turntable ladder truck and flanked by two fire engines and funeral cars in a route that started at the station and headed through Corby town centre.

On arrival at the church in Rothwell, he was carried through a Fire Service Guard of Honour.

In a statement released by Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service earlier this month, Hilmi’s wife, Victoria Say said: “As a serving firefighter and all-round amazing human, we will be giving Hilmi the send-off he deserves. This will be a very special day for the most incredible man.”

In the same statement, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service’s acting chief fire officer, Simon Tuhill, said: “Those who know him well knew how proud he was to be a firefighter and to serve the local community, and therefore it is only fitting that the service plays a big part in giving him the send-off that he deserves.”

Hilmi was diagnosed with stage 4 Myxoid Liposarcoma with bone metastasis, two years ago – but despite this, he never gave up.

He fought to give himself a chance of living further and was raising money for special treatment abroad.

When the news of his condition became public knowledge in the community, Hilmi received an outpouring of support.

Within a month, his JustGiving page had reached more than £20,000 of the £450,000 target and a number of fundraising events had been planned.

As well as events and money donations, many people donated their time and effort, making car decals, raffle tickets, football cards and more.

Speaking with this newspaper earlier this year, Hilmi said: “Everyone in the community has been really supportive, we’ve got a GoFundMe page, and we’ve raised £17,000 already (over £55,000 now).

“I’m very grateful to everybody for doing that for me.”