Despite Rain, Hundreds Pay Respects to Fallen Boston Firefighter

Colleen Cronin

Boston Herald

(TNS)

Hundreds of people lined up outside St. Theresa of Avila to pay their respects to the family of fallen Boston firefighter Robert “Bobby” “BK” Kilduff at his wake Sunday.

Kilduff died while fighting a three-alarm blaze at home in Dorchester May 23. All five residents made it out safely.

As a procession of firefighters and first responders delivered Kilduff and his family to the West Roxbury Church, members of the community stood along the route in the rain, including a little boy in a firefighter’s costume. Afterwards, a line formed down the block, waiting to get inside.

A large America flag hung from Ladder 29 over the scene.

Since his death, the third generation firefighter, union leader, and father has been remembered both for his love of his family and his job.

His kids Hannah Jane, 24, and Mason, 22, said despite all the lives he saved and the effort he put into the community, Kilduff somehow always found time to make memories with them, whether that was a trip to Disney or attending a Pats Superbowl parade and ending up on a duckboat with some of the players.

“I always knew that my dad was kind of the best,” Mason told reporters during a firehouse interview last week.

“I just want to emphasize how much he loved being a dad,” Kilduff’s longtime girlfriend Jess Spruell said. “He was so strong for them. And I got to see the other side of what he had to do to be the best dad, and I’m just so proud of him. I’m going to miss my best friend.”

Fundraisers for Kilduff’s family have raised more than $100,000. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, created in honor of a firefighter who died in 911, has said it will pay off the mortgage on Kilduff’s home and the kids’ student debt.

For Kilduff’s funeral Monday, firefighters from across the country are expected to attended, along side several elected officials including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Kilduff was known for his own work organizing firefighters to make sure they’d attend the services of other first responders. “He just showed up when people needed help,” Ed Kelly, the General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters said of his late friend and colleague.

Kilduff’s funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. at The Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Washington St. in Boston.

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