Boston Fire Kills 2 Firefighters, Injures 13 More: 'We Lost 2 Heroes Today,' Says Mayor
A Boston fire swept through the city's row housing in the Back Bay neighborhood Wednesday, claiming the lives of two veteran firefighters and injuring 13 more. Lt. Ed Walsh and Mike Kennedy's deaths are being mourned by the city, as the mayor called it "a sad day in the city of Boston."
The Boston fire's cause hasn't been determined, but it quickly became a 9-alarm fire because of the 40-mph winds, which spread the flames from house to house. The blaze was "like a blowtorch," officials said at a press conference Wednesday night.
"[The wind] had a dramatic impact on the extent and how quick this fire traveled," Boston Fire Deputy Chief Joseph Finn explained. "In 30 years, I've never seen a fire travel that fast, escalate that quickly, and create such havoc in such a short period of time."
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Kennedy, 33 and Walsh, 43, had become trapped in the basement of a house and signaled for help.
However, when fellow firefighters attempted to come to their aid, a backdraft explosion injured many of them, Boston.com reported. The injuries mostly included broken bones and burns.
30 minutes into the fire, Kennedy was pulled from the basement and transported to Mass General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Kennedy, who was single, had been with Engine 33, Ladder 15 for years and had over six years of firefighting experience.
Walsh wasn't pulled from the burning basement until hours after the fire and was pronounced dead on the scene. The lieutenant was married with three young children. He had nine years of firefighting experience, and heroism ran in the family: his late father and uncle were lieutenants and his cousin Tom is a captain for the Watertown Fire Department.
"Citizens were saved, and that's what we do," president of the local firefighters union Richard Paris said during the press conference, alluding to those rescued from the upper floors of the buildings during the blaze. "We sacrifice our life for the citizens of Boston."
"Words cannot do justice to the grief that we feel tonight," Mayor Martin Walsh said in a statement. "Our hearts are heavy with the knowledge that these brave men gave their lives to protect the safety of our city and its people."
The 9-alarm blaze is the first time since 2009 that a Boston firefighter was killed on duty.
"We lost two heroes here today," Walsh said at the press conference. "Today is just a sad day in the city of Boston."
