Joppa-Magnolia Fire Company members and family, friends and colleagues of the late Harford County Sheriff's Office Senior Deputy Patrick B. "Pat" Dailey gathered outside the main Joppa-Magnolia fire station off Old Mountain Road Friday evening for a brief ceremony to dedicate the entrance to the station as Dailey Drive.
A sign was erected with the drive's new name flanked by the insignias of the Sheriff's Office and Joppa-Magnolia VFC.
Among the 30 people gathered for the dedication were Senior Deputy Dailey's sons, Bryan and Tyler; his fiancée, Amy Grebe; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler and Chief Deputy Col. Steven Bodway. Speaking behalf of the fire company were President Ben Lay and Shirley Connelly.
A Joppa resident, Senior Deputy Dailey, who was 52, was fatally shot on Feb. 10 inside the Panera Bread cafe in Abingdon, where the he had gone to investigate a complaint that a man with an outstanding warrant for an assault against his ex-wife was inside. The man, David Brian Evans, fled the cafe after shooting Senior Deputy Daily and later fatally shot Deputy First Class Mark Logsdon as he gave pursuit. Evans was then fatally shot by other deputies.
Senior Deputy Dailey, a Marine Corps veteran, joined Joppa-Magnolia VFC on his 16th birthday and served actively with the fire company for 37 years, according to a statement the fire company released shortly after his death. He served nine years on the fire company's board of directors and chaired its bylaws committee.
Bryan and Tyler Dailey are active members of the fire company.