Perhaps the only thing Fred Behnke takes more seriously than his family and his work is his faith.

"I got on the fire department in 1997," says Behnke. "We joined the church about 15 years ago...we wanted to bring up our family in the Catholic faith."

And in that time, Fred's church - Saint Patrick in Hubbard - has become a family in itself.
So it's small wonder when four alarms rang from a fire at the church Monday night...

"I was like 'oh, I really gotta step this up'", Behnke says.

Fortunately no one was inside.
But one thing Behnke and his crew knew they had to rescue - the tabernacle holding the Holy Eucharist.

"It is the heart of the church," said Behnke. "The floor (near the altar) dropped, so the wall dropped and leaned like it was going to fall over...we talked about getting a 24 inch extension ladder and putting it across...I went on one side of the ladder and was holding it and (Eagle Joint Fire Distrct firefighters) John Petro walked across, took the top portion off and handed it to Lee O'Hara Jr., then the large portion of it he brought down on the ladder and I told him to slide it towards me and that's pretty much what we did."

EJFD firefighters Lee O'Hara III and Kent Kelley also assisted; their quick thinking and teamwork gave pastor Michael Swierz and his parishioners something to celebrate in the midst of perhaps the biggest tragedy their church has ever faced.

"They could see in our faces that it was definitely something special," said Behnke.

And first thing Wednesday morning, the precious tabernacle he and his crew saved served as the centerpiece of the first mass at Saint Patrick since the fire.

"We gotta keep our faith," Behnke said.