Members of the New Haven fire department are mourning the loss of a firefighter who sustained career-ending injuries during a fire in 1992.

Thomas Kelly died Monday and the department is considering his passing a line of duty death because his injuries left him incapacitated, Patch.com reports.

Kelly responded to a building fire on Chapel Street in 1992 and fell down 30 feet down a shaft, suffering "catastrophic" injuries, according to WTNH.com.

He was 33 at the time he was injured. He joined the department in 1979 and was a tillerman on Truck 4 when he was injured.

New Haven Fire Chief Daniel T. Coughlin told Patch that Kelly was a hero, and it took nearly 25 firefighters to rescue him, using ladders and by breaching walls.

"Thirty-four years of strength and resilience. The same strength and resilience that is in each and every one of you," Coughlin wrote in a statement to his firefighters. "Firefighter Kelly is a testament to the strength and honor that is present in this department and in each and every New Haven Firefighter."