Statesville - At 4:37 p.m. Thursday, the tones that normally send firefighters and rescue squad members scrambling on some type of call sounded as one last tribute to a young man who dedicated much of his life to helping others.

Randy Neal Jones, 23, was laid to rest Thursday afternoon at Iredell Memorial Gardens. As the tones sounded, telecommunicator Mark Pruitt, using Jones' call numbers for Cool Springs Volunteer Fire Department and the Iredell County Rescue Squad, said, "Cool Springs 250 and Iredell Rescue 1117 answered his last alarm. God bless you, Randy Jones."

Jones died Monday in a one-vehicle wreck while responding to a house fire on West Page Hager Road.

On Thursday, Jones' fellow firefighters and rescue squad members paid tribute to their colleague and friend during a funeral service at Western Avenue Baptist Church. The church was nearly filled by firefighters, paramedics and rescue squad members. Before the service, Jones' fellow firefighters and rescue squad members hugged each other as tears flowed. After the service, there were more tears and hugs. At the front of the church, a floral arrangement contained Jones' rescue helmet, surrounded by yellow flowers. Atop his casket was a spray of red and white flowers surrounding Jones' fire helmet.

To the right of the casket was a plaque containing the emblems of both Cool Springs Volunteer Fire Department and the Iredell Rescue Squad with the words "In loving memory of Randy Neal Jones." Bill Sherrill Jr., deputy chief of the Iredell County Rescue Squad, spoke of Jones' passion for helping others, even at an early age. "He joined the squad at 14 years old as an explorer," he said. His young age didn't keep him from giving his all to the squad, Sherrill said. "He worked hard at everything," he explained. By age 18, Jones became a senior member of the squad.

During that same time period, Jones became a junior firefighter at Cool Springs, and eventually joined that department as a senior member, serving both organizations. And he served both with equal enthusiasm, Sherrill said. "He made 90 percent of the calls," he said. "He was sneaking out of school to go to rescue calls. That's Randy," he said. Sherrill also remembered Jones for his infectious, persistent smile and a constant twinkle in his eye.

Even when he was forced to reprimand Jones once, Sherrill said, the smile remained. "He looked at me and said 'I know you're right. I screwed up,' but he still had that silly grin." One of the more touching moments came when Jones' father, David Neal Jones, played his guitar and sang two gospel songs as a tribute to his son. Jones told the crowd at the service that while unusual, he wanted to sing for his son. "This is the last thing I can do for him," he said. Prior to his second song, Jones spoke of how difficult it was to say good-bye to his son. "It hasn't been too long since I buried my mom and dad."

"This is three or four times harder than that. ... I wouldn't wish this on anyone," he said. The Rev. David Troutman talked about the difficulty in dealing with what happened to Jones, and understanding why it happened. He could offer no firm answer to the question everyone has been asking since Monday: "Why?" "I don't have an answer. Somehow, some way, God decided it was time for Randy to go home," he said. Troutman, who served as Jones' minister, described the young man's passion for his volunteer work with the fire department and rescue squad. "When one of his pagers went off, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree."

"He had such a passion for helping people," he said.

After the funeral service, Jones' casket was rolled out and lifted onto the back of a Cool Springs fire truck for the trip to Iredell Memorial Gardens.

The funeral procession stretched for miles, taking more than an hour to travel from Western Avenue Baptist to the cemetery. All along the route, firefighters, law enforcement and rescue squads blocked traffic at intersections, and stood with their hats or hands over their hearts.

Many citizens also lined the route, paying their respects to Jones. The final tribute to Jones came at the cemetery when the tradition of ringing a bell to honor a fallen comrade was carried out.

The bell rang three times, signaling Jones' final call. As the bell rang, a lone bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."