Thousands of people descended on Baltimore’s Convention Center on Wednesday morning for the funeral of three Baltimore City firefighters who lost their lives in a vacant rowhouse fire last week.
During the service, where a choir sang and bagpipes played, family members and friends stepped forward to share their memories of the fallen: Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter and paramedic Kenny Lacayo, and Lt. Kelsey Sadler.
Then, their bodies, tucked in caskets and draped in American flags, boarded Baltimore City fire engines once more, for a procession to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.
Read about each of the lost firefighters below:
Paul Butrim, 37 years old
In a eulogy, Josh Fannon, president of the Baltimore Fire Officers Union, IAFF Local 964, remembered his friend Paul Butrim’s deadpan joke delivery.
“He had this ability to deliver a joke in a quick, dry way with a straight face and wait until you picked up on it,” Fannon said.
After a co-worker joked one day that his name sounded like “butt rim,” that became Paul’s nickname.
“He got a kick out of that,” Fannon said. “So, that was his name for a while, which evolved into Butt Sauce, then finally just Sauce. I still refer to him as Sauce to this day.”
Butrim started his career as a member of the Joppa Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, shortly after graduating from Edgewood High School. In 2006, he graduated from Baltimore City’s Fire Department Academy. Ten years later, he was promoted to lieutenant.
In 2015, he rescued an unconscious young child from an apartment fire, and performed one-person CPR until emergency medical services arrived, earning him an Exemplary Performance Award.
Around the firehouse, Butrim was known as a practical joker. One day, he threaded a pair of women’s underwear onto the outside of another firefighter’s pants. With the pants tucked into the firefighter’s boots, the underwear couldn’t be seen.
Paul never planned for the get-up to be worn outside the station, but suddenly a call came through. The firefighter pulled up the pants and the underwear, completely unaware, and off they went to the fire.
“Paul comes out after the fire’s knocked, rolling on the front yard in tears laughing,” Fannon said.
Butrim was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, and played on Joppa’s softball team for years, Fannon said. He also loved hockey and the Washington Capitals. But perhaps above all, Butrim loved NASCAR, and specifically driver Chase Elliott.
“He would constantly text Lt. Joey DeRusso all season long with updates on his favorite driver,” Fannon said. “He was a staple at races in Dover and would go with his brothers.”
In 2010, Paul went on his first date with his eventual wife, Rachel. During one of their many crabbing trips to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Paul got down on one knee and proposed, Fannon said. The two were married, and in 2016 Rachel gave birth to their son, Nolan.
“There was no greater pride in his life,” Fannon said. “He was born to be a father.”
Every week, Butrim would meticulously plan out which day he and Nolan would go to the grocery store.
“Funny as that may sound, that was special father-son time for them and they looked forward to it every week,” Fannon said.
The family also treasured their camping trips, Fannon said. “They hauled that camper and golf cart all over the place,” he said.
And everywhere they went, they’d plant a flag with “Nolan’s Campy” emblazoned on top, and take a group photo beside it.
But three years ago this month, Nolan died.
”Paul is keeping a watchful eye over all of us with Nolan at this side. Together at last,” Fannon said.
Kenny Lacayo, 30 years old
To Kenny Lacayo’s fiancee Clara Fenelon, he was a gentle soul: the kind of man who wouldn’t let her open any doors, who would always check with her before taking an overtime shift.
“The protector, who forced me to drink water when what I really wanted was more tequila,” she said, to laughs from the assembled crowd.
A Montgomery County native, Lacayo first joined the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue squad in 2011, a few years after graduating from Wheaton High School.
By 2012 he was a firefighter and by 2014 he was a paramedic as well. Two years later he was named the Rescue Squad’s paramedic of the year. In 2018, he received a unit citation for his lifesaving actions in responding to a pedestrian struck by a car.
He joined the city’s fire department in 2014, and was assigned to Engine Company 14 last summer.
Fenelon said she would always treasure the memories from their adventures together — even the time when they arrived at the closing table to purchase their home and realized that they had forgotten to wire the money to cover the closing costs.
“I haven’t been back to our home yet, where our wedding guest list still sits on top of my laptop,” she said.
“The world isn’t right without my Kenny. But I find some solace in knowing that most people spend a lifetime looking for the type of love that we had,” she said.
Lacayo’s sister — Kattia Elizabeth Olivias-King — recalled his powerfully bright personality.
“To the public, Kenny was heroic and brave, but he was also sweet and gentle and kind and always optimistic even in the darkest moments,” she said. “Before this, I thought of a million stories to tell you guys about him so you could understand exactly who he was. I hope I chose the right one.”
One summer, Lacayo joined his siblings at a concert in North Carolina, and told them he was determined to sneak in some food. But out of all the snacks he could have chosen, he decided to bring crepes.
“So here’s Kenny at the concert digging out these smushed chocolate-covered, whipped cream-covered crepes out of his boxer in the middle of the South,” she said.
Grinning widely, he said: “Do you guys want some?”
”I will never forget that smile,” she said.
Kelsey Sadler, 33 years old
Given the opportunity, Kelsey Sadler might have tried to leave her own funeral early, said her sister Lacey Marino. That’s how much she hated attention.
”She’d be home in her pajamas, telling us she didn’t have time to say bye because she was going to bed,” Marino said.
That was Kelsey. Fiercely defiant to the end.
“Strong words, strong feelings and very strong hugs,” Marino said. “She was the best hugger. Hugged so strong you felt like she would bruise you.”
After graduating from Fallston High School in 2006, Sadler started her career with the Baltimore City Fire Department.
Sadler dominated fire scenes, her friend Lindsay Longo said. If she wasn’t the first one inside a building with the nozzle of a fire hose, she was fighting others for the honor.
The only woman in a station of men, Sadler was their “spicy, opinionated princess” who loved hot pink and purple, and decked her flashlight in leopard-print duct tape to keep men from stealing it, Longo said.
She loved her chocolate lab Shana and her pit bull Scary Mary. After a long shift, Sadler would come home and make peanut butter pancakes for Shana and even buy another entree meal for her dog when dining out, Longo said.
Despite being a standout firefighter, Sadler was humble about her achievements and always brushed compliments aside. She loved to snowboard, scuba dive and travel. Sadler loved having her photo taken — but only from the perfect angle — and was a notorious napper, Longo said.
Together, she and her husband, Brandon, also took care of her stepdaughter Mila. And she was known to her niece and nephew as an incredibly fun aunt.
“Board games, puzzles, beach trips, hot chocolate in the morning, seeing who can eat an entire cupcake in one bite, our massive Easter egg hunts, bonfires, pajama days, watching all the episodes of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ a million times,” Marino said. “Everything with Kelsey was simply the best.”
Sadler also loved taking photos. When her family went through her phone after her death, they realized just how much, her sister said.
“There were 4,957 pictures on there, and that was after a recent phone dump,” Marino said. “Remember to take the pictures. Buy the selfie stick. And be obnoxious about it.”
Sadler also enjoyed joking around with her family. There was the time she peeled off all of her gel nail polish and sneakily placed it on her sister’s leg during church. Or the time she sneaked a dirty tissue onto her father’s leg during her cousin’s wedding.
Growing up, Sadler always wanted to be around her older sister. They loved quoting their favorite movie, “Home Alone,” and making fun of the book “Goodnight Moon.”
“But funny how as adults the roles had reversed,” Marino said. “I always wanted to be with her.”
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