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Senator Terri Bryant celebrated the memory of fallen firefighter Kody Vanfossan, highlighting the renaming of a section of roadway to honor him. "Firefighter Vanfossan paid the ultimate sacrifice on May 5, 2019 while battling a six-alarm commercial fire in Christopher, IL," she said in an Aug. 14 Facebook post.

"It was an honor to stand with the family and friends of Kody Vanfossan as we renamed a section of road for a true hero," said Bryant, Illinois State Senator (R-Murphysboro), according to Facebook. "Firefighter Vanfossan paid the ultimate sacrifice on May 5, 2019 while battling a 6 alarm commercial fire in Christopher, IL. God bless his memory."

Kody M. Vanfossan was 24 when he died on May 5, 2019, as he battled a six-alarm commercial fire in Christopher, Illinois. According to his obituary at Gilbert Funeral Homes, Kody was a third-generation firefighter whose career began when he became a cadet at the age of 16. The obituary also notes that he trained and fought fires alongside his father, whom he idolized. He was born in Carbondale and left behind his fiancée Casey Garrett, young son Erik Michael VanFossan, his parents Bren and Mindy Vanfossan, siblings Garrett and Paige Vanfossan, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Screenshot of Sen. Terri Bryant's Aug 14 Facebook post | Senator Terri Bryant's Facebook page

A section of Highway 148 was renamed to honor Vanfossan on Aug. 13. According to a KFVS12.com news article, the section renamed for the fallen firefighter is at the intersection of Yellow Banks Road and Highway 148. Vanfossan’s family, including his father Brent Vanfossan, who is Christopher’s Assistant Fire Chief, attended the ceremony.

"He would be happy knowing that a fallen first responder has had their recognition for the sacrifice to their community," said Brent Vanfossan in the KFVS12 report. "It means a lot knowing people can drive by and see the sign and hopefully look his name up to see the sacrifice that he made – searching a building that he didn’t make it out of."

Kody Vanfossan was added to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Roll of Honor in 2020.

Bryant has represented Illinois' 58th District since 2021. Prior to that she spent seven years in the Illinois House of Representatives. She worked at the Illinois Department of Corrections from 1994 to 2014. She currently serves as Minority Spokesperson for the Energy and Public Utilities and Behavioral and Mental Health committees. She is also a member of the Senate Higher Education Working Group and the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding, according to her official biography.