First responders and the South County and Jefferson County communities came out July 18 to honor the life of Affton Fire Protection District Capt. James Cova, 54, of High Ridge, who was found unresponsive while on duty at the firehouse July 9.

On the day of Cova’s public funeral service, Gov. Mike Parson ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to be lowered to half-staff at all government buildings in Jefferson County, the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City and firehouses statewide in honor of the fallen captain.

“Capt. Jim Cova faithfully devoted over 26 years of his life to the fire service and protecting people and their property,” Parson said. “He proudly served his community until the very end, responding to several emergency calls before suffering a medical emergency that tragically took his life. Those who served with Cova described him as ‘the calm in the storm,’ who was fully committed to his fellow first responders and community.”