As veteran Saugas firefighter Damian Drella fought occupational cancer in last few days, his family asked Ricky Sica, a longtime friend, to create a special casket wrap to honor Drella's life and legacy.

Sica wanted to do more than simply say goodbye, he wanted to give his friend a final tribute that reflected the passion that had connected them for decades.

He was a lieutenant with Saugus Fire, where he worked for 35 years after four years as a dispatcher. Drella was a talented fire photographer and fire buff who is known around the world. 

Drella and Sica met while the two were working in the tow industry and chasing fires in the Boston area nearly two decades ago.

Sica, who owns Medford-based 428 Graphics, said the request from Drella's family, which came last week, was personal from the beginning.

“This is actually my first casket wrap,” told Firehouse.com. “I wish it wasn't somebody that I was so close with because I don't think it would be as emotional.”

Normally, he provides designed wraps for emergency and commercial vehicles.

On Friday, the funeral home delivered the casket to Sica's shop and he got to work. He spent three hours studying the angles, shapes and spaces around the casket to determine a plan.

"I thought, this is almost a good shape to make it into a fire engine," he recalled. 

The wrap features Saugus Engine 3, which was Drella's engine. on the exterior, plus a collection of photos from Drella's fire chasing on the interior.

“It was a lot of work to get everything right,” Sica said, noting that the casket's grooves, curves and multiple angles made applying the graphics considerably more complicated, instead of the straightforward surfaces he's accustomed to working with.

He's proud of the details, including the exact layout of Engine 3 and the addition of Drella's name on the officer's door. He also incorporated other details, including a patch placed on the top of the casket and a dedication. 

Over the years, Drella had sent Sica photos he had taken at fires with his cellphone. Sica took those images and incorporated them into the interior of the casket, creating a black-and-white collage that would surround Drella.

“I did the whole inside of the casket with all black-and-white fire photos,” Sica said. “I put a lot of attention to detail in there. I really went the extra effort for Damian.” 

When he finished the project, he sent a photo to Drella's family, and he said they were moved by it.

Tuesday night, Sica visited Drella and shared photos of the casket with him. He said Drella was delighted with it. “It made him smile.”

Drella passed away Wednesday night. 

“This is exactly how he would want it,” Sica said. “This is definitely how I would want to go.”