His wife still hospitalized in critical condition after last week's fog-caused pileup on the Bong Bridge, Pat Kenney simply hadn't gotten around to removing snow from the family's flat roof.

A friend had made arrangements for volunteers to come by this weekend to take care of the chore before heavy snow and ice caused any problems.

Wednesday morning, Kenney discovered the friends would be too late. Water was streaming through the ceiling and into the living room.

He called his friend. She called the Duluth Fire Department, concerned about what would happen when leaking water reached electrical wiring inside theCongdon Park home.

About 1 p.m., firefighters began to arrive. They shoveled off the roof. Then, using snowblowers, shovels and strong backs, they cleared walkways around the house and the deck in back.

"She's in need. We felt this was the least we could do," said Assistant Chief Richard Mattson, one of nine Duluth firefighters who responded. At least three firetrucks, including a ladder truck, lined up along Vermilion Road outside the home for at least two hours Wednesday afternoon.

"I think this is the first time we've ever done something like this," Mattson said, heaving snow from the deck after it had been pushed off the roof. "We're there when someone really needs help. And she really needed help. It feels good to be able to do this."

While the firefighters worked outside, family friends toiled inside. They pulled up carpets to drape over chairs to dry and sopped up the mess.

Meanwhile, Pat Kenney was at St. Mary's Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon with his wife, Rosemary Kenney. He declined comment through a family friend at the house.

Kenney's newborn daughter, delivered in the emergency room at St. Mary's, died as a result of the 16-car accident a week ago today. The infant was named Mearaid Rose Kenney.

"We want to make sure she doesn't have any other problems when she gets back home here," Mattson said of Rosemary Kenney. "That's why we're here."