BOSTON — The firefighter community remembers fallen hero on Memorial Day as the man who always came to the rescue on and off the job.
Rescue 2 in Roxbury remained busy on Memorial Day. The firefighters working without the man they say was the heart of the fire house, Robert Kilduff Jr.
Kilduff was killed battling a blaze in Dorchester on Saturday night.
[ ‘One of our best’: Veteran Boston firefighter killed battling 3-alarm blaze in Dorchester ]
“You can see from everybody here how much we love him,” Captain Sean Linnell said with his fellow firefighters surrounding him.
All who knew him will tell you how there are a lot of reasons to love the firefighters’ firefighter.
“BK was the quintessential rescue man,” Lt. Greg Kelly said.
Coming to the rescue was truly an around the clock effort for Kilduff.
“When the going got tough, that was the guy that we wanted. There was nothing he wouldn’t do. He was a hard charger, Victor Gaybor said.
“Bobby served not just on this truck, served outside these walls every single day in a manner that I’ve never seen anyone else do in my life. He will be missed. I’ll try to fill his shoes to the best of my ability to be half the man he was,” Alector Tavares said.
When he wasn’t physically at the firehouse, he was in the office next to Rich MacKinnon Jr., the President of Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts.
“It is surreal. We’ve been looking at pictures, and his office is right next to mine, seeing the empty office, it truly hasn’t hit us all yet,” MacKinnon said.
“The fact that he wanted to be involved in every aspect of being a firefighter whether it was obviously working his shifts on Rescue 2 or doing what he could in the office to make the job better for other firefighters,” he added.
Beyond the union, there are countless organizations Kilduff volunteered for.
The third-generation firefighter became a fierce advocate for protecting firefighters and their families from the risks of the job including occupational cancer.
Those who knew him best though, wouldn’t hesitate to share which role he was most proud of.
“It was how much he loved being a father. I think he was a tremendous father and someone a lot of firefighters looked up too. He was able to put it all together in a way that was graceful,” Jason Burns, the Executive Director of the Last Call Foundation said.
“He was most passionate about his two children, quite frankly. He was a dad first. He was a great father and always telling us what his son and daughter were doing and very proud of them,” MacKinnon added.
Members of the community made it a point to stop by the fire house on Memorial Day. Many were dropping off flowers and speaking with the firefighters there.
“We just wanted to come down and give our condolences and speak with them,” one woman said.
His fellow firefighters sharing how they know Kilduff will want to be remembered.
“Never forget what firefighters do. That’s what BK would want. BK wouldn’t want this to be about him. He would want it to be about what firefighters do every day across this nation. That’s what he loved; it was never about him. It was about his love for other firefighters, love for the job, love the community in the city of Boston that he protected everyday
Knowing a lot of his brothers and sisters within Boston fire and beyond will be struggling, many know they’ll be leaning on each other a lot.
“These are difficult conversations to have. Be emotional, be vulnerable, have the conversations that you need to have, but understand that we are going to go through these things. You’re not weak because you are going through it, you’re human. I know a lot of times in the firefighter world, you might feel invincible and I think there are some good qualities to that, but you’re human and you’re going to go through the range of emotions and we are certainly going through it right now so reach out if you need help,” Burns said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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