Langeland Family Funeral Home Comstock Chapel

Switalski, 55, was struck and killed by a car Wednesday night after responding to a report of a car crash in the eastbound lanes of I-94, east of Sprinkle Road.The funeral service will be preceded by a motorized procession involving members of the chief's family, friends and invited fire apparatus.Those events may involve a gathering of public safety professionals not been seen here since the tragic 2011 shooting death of Kalamazoo Public Safety office Eric Zapata."The general public will not be allowed to drive or enter a vehicle in the procession," said Mark Barnes, president of the Kalamazoo County Fire Chiefs Association. "However they are encouraged to line the procession route to show their respect to Ed and his family."The procession will begin at about 9 a.m. at the Langeland Family Funeral Homes Westside Chapel, at 3916 S. 9th St., and arrive at Wings Event Center in time for the funeral. Chaplains from the Kalamazoo and Portage departments of public safety will officiate.Click here for a pdf map of the procession.A showing of ladder trucks and other fire apparatus is expected to honor Switalski as his family leaves the funeral home for the service, Barnes said. His casket is to be transported on a special fire truck.Barnes said the procession is expected to take more than two hours to arrive at Wings Event Center after passing each of the three Comstock fire stations."The on-duty crews will be out there to salute as he passes," said Barnes, who is also chief of the Oshtemo Township Fire Department.Various area police agencies will help close off intersections as the procession proceeds, he said.Public visitations for Switalski, who was named chief of Comstock Township Fire and Rescue in 2013 after 34 years as a firefighter in suburban Chicago, are scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, at the funeral home. They are set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.Kalamazoo County Sheriff's deputies say Switalski and other first responders had resolved a 9:30 p.m. incident they were called to handle. Switalski was on foot... (MLive.com)