Firefighters Remember Corey Comperatore, Chief Killed at Trump Rally in Pennsylvania

BUFFALO TWP., Pa. — As a would-be assassin shot former President Donald Trump Saturday night, Corey Comperatore, 50, scrambled to protect his family in the line of fire.

It would be his last heroic act, but firefighters in rural Butler County who knew Comperatore say they are not surprised by the father’s selfless actions.

“His two daughters and his wife were everything to him,” Kip Johnston, fire chief and 43-year veteran of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, told the Post. “… I couldn’t have asked for a better (firefighter).”

Comperatore was leader of the volunteer company for a few years in the early 2000s before reducing his role to focus on his family.

He remained an active firefighter and member of his community until his tragic death at the Butler Farm Showgrounds.

“He was one of those guys you wanted to go into a fire with because you knew you were going to come out,” said Randy Reamer, president of the fire company and a 15-year veteran. “When the situation got bad, you came back with him.”

Johnston and Reamer said Comperatore was always vocal about his conservative political views, but never antagonized those who disagreed.

“You knew his (political) position,” Reamer said. “If you accepted it, that was fine. If you didn’t accept it, that was fine. He didn’t care.”

Asked by the Post about his “favorite Corey story,” Johnston joked, “I can’t put that on record!” The chef said they shared many good times together.

“A great leader, a great family man, a good friend,” Johnston said of Comperatore.

The chief’s wife, Lee Johnston, was a teacher at the nearby Buffalo Elementary School, which Comperatore’s two daughters attended while she was working. Although she didn’t have Comperatore’s daughters in class, she spoke fondly of the entire family.

“We had a very close relationship, not only within the fire company but outside the company,” Johnston said. “Their whole family is just very nice people.”

On Sunday, the American flag outside the fire station was lowered to half-staff in honor of Comperatore.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who also described Comperatore as a local hero, ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff in his honor.