BUCKHOLTS, Texas (KBTX) – Fire trucks and patrol cars from across Central Texas lined the route Wednesday, escorting fallen Buckholts volunteer firefighter Rick “RJ” Fuentes one last time.
Fuentes, 26, died Sunday when the fire truck he was in rolled while responding to a call near Holland. The Texas Department of Public Safety is still investigating the crash.
People stopped on the side of the road to salute as the procession passed. Some got out of their vehicles and removed their hats.
“It was emotional; it’s the only word I have for it, to see the number of people that showed up and to show up in force,” said Brett Eberhart, public information officer for the Milam County Sheriff’s Office. “People that stopped on the side of the road to salute or take their hat off, got out of their vehicle, in fact, to do those kinds of things.”
The escort ended at a funeral home in Cameron, where friends, family and fellow first responders gathered.
“It was beautiful. To see everybody come out, all the departments, law enforcement, band together for him — it meant a lot to us,” said Alex Rodriguez, Fuentes’ cousin and the Buckholts Volunteer Fire Department’s assistant fire chief. “It was overwhelming seeing everybody here for him.”
Rodriguez said Fuentes’ parents didn’t realize how large Wednesday’s turnout would be.
A department that was family
Fuentes had been a Buckholts volunteer firefighter for a little over a year. He joined because his brother was already on the department. Rodriguez’s father is the department’s fire chief — and Fuentes’s uncle.
“He just wanted to be a part of something bigger than what he was,” Rodriguez said.
Thomas Chamberlain, another Buckholts firefighter, had only worked with Fuentes for about two months. He said it was enough time to feel like family.
“I looked at him as a brother, like somebody that I grew up with my whole life, even though we are from different families,” Chamberlain said. “Doing this, you’re part of a family. You create those bonds. And even in a short amount of time, it hurts. It really does.”
Responding to the scene
Buckholt’s crews were already working a separate grass fire call near Holland on Sunday when Rodriguez said the department’s president got a phone call: Fuentes may have rolled his truck responding to another call.
Rodriguez and his father, the fire chief, rushed to the scene and were among the first first responders to arrive.
“Being a part of this business, this line of work, it is hard,” Rodriguez said. “You do feel bad for all the other families you see, victims. But when it’s your own — not just your own fellow firemen, fellow brother, but your blood — it cuts deeper. It’s a different kind of hurt. Something you will never be able to forget.”
Remembering RJ
Fuentes taught at Lamar Middle School and volunteered at his church. He was also a 2023 graduate of Texas A&M University and CH Yoe High School in Cameron.
Rodriguez said his cousin never turned down a chance to help.
“He was the true definition of a ride or die,” Rodriguez said. “He was down for whatever. No challenge was too big or too small for him. He was willing to help out wherever he was needed.”
Chamberlain said the best way to honor Fuentes now is to keep serving.
“The only way to honor him as a firefighter is to go out and fight fires. Respond to accident scenes,” Chamberlain said. “Just make my presence known in his honor. That’s really all we can do to keep their legacy and their honor going.”
Eberhart, who is also a Texas A&M Corps of Cadets alumnus, said the Aggie Network’s response reflects traditions like Muster and Silver Taps.
“To see a community who may or may not know somebody that has died come out and pay their respects is just a testament and a tribute to the kind of people that attend that university,” Eberhart said.
Rodriguez closed with a message for his cousin.
“Man, I love you, little cousin,” Rodriguez said. “I hope you’re up there watching over us. Just until next call, buddy. Until next call.”
No funeral arrangements have been announced. Fuentes’ family has asked for privacy at this time. KBTX will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available.
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