Beneath an early afternoon sun punctuated by a light breeze, thousands of firefighters stood at attention as the casket of Michael Kennedy — Iraq war veteran, big brother, community volunteer and firefighter — was carried out of Holy Name Church.
By every measure, said Boston fire spokesman Steve McDonald, it was a grand send off.
“I thought we’d get 10,000 firefighters throughout the three days of wakes and two funerals and today is the same,” McDonald said. “I mean, it’s perfect weather, a nice light breeze, and there are just thousands of firefighters here. These two days of funerals have been some of the largest we’ve had in Boston.”
Firefighters from around the country, the state and the world attended. Ken Gadston from London, Ontario, which is between Detroit and Toronto, came here, he says, “to pay respect to the family and the firefighters that have died.”
They came here, as one firefighter put it, because of the brotherhood and sisterhood of firefighters. Kennedy was also a member of another fraternal group. He was an avid motorcyclist and the procession to the gravesite including fellow cyclists from clubs throughout New England. Mark Scanlon is one.
“This is what I do,” Scanlon said. “This is what bikers do and what the biker community does. Our other contingent is now at the cemetery to pay respects as they come. So, I’m here.”
Political dignitaries — among them Attorney General Martha Coakley and Gov. Deval Patrick — let their emotions speak for themselves in conveying their feelings on this day, so close to the Marathon Bombing anniversary. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch chose to elaborate:
“A lot of these fire fighters wee first responders on that very day,” Lynch said. “So was Michael Kennedy. And I think it just makes us much more aware of the dangers they face every day, and the tremendous courage they show everyday. This certainly was a huge tragedy but they face this kind of danger everyday.”
Some firefighters had been here before, not necessarily to this city or this community: They had sent off other fire fighters killed in the line of duty.
Rafael Suarez, 27, from the Buffalo Fire Department in New York, is a young fireman who has been on the force for four years. His dad and several of his uncles are also on the force. He has attended funerals of firefighters in the recent past.“
“I actually went to Toledo a couple of months ago when they had two fallen firefighters there,” Suarez said.
The death of Kennedy, says Ken Garston of London, Ontario, was just another sad reminder of the dangers of this job.
“The people that probably see the least amount of danger coming are the firefighters who are at the fire,” Garston said. “Everyone else who is outside and has an overview can see how badly it can go with wind-driven fires.”
The fire that took Kennedy’s life and that of fellow firefighter Ed Walsh was a fast moving blaze that trapped the two men in the basement of a brownstone on Beacon Street. The cause of the conflagration that consumed them is still on the mind of Steve McDonald, a cause that remains unknown.
“Of course you have investigators there everyday and investigators there as we speak,” McDonald said. “It’s active and that’s really all we’re going to say on this. Everything’s been looked at. Nothing’s ben ruled in or out but the investigators are really trying to determine where it stated and how.”
The mournful sound of bagpipes filled the circle here in West Roxbury outside the church and for some tears accompanied every note. Steve Makos of the Westfield fire department is a 15-year fireman who has played the bagpipes just as long.
“I think a lot of people use the bagpipes almost as an excuse to mourn and to cry because you’ll get people that really want to hold it together but want to keep the stoic image of a firefighter or of a police officer,” Makos said. “But then when they hear the bagpipes it kinda almost they’re excuse to say, ‘I was fine until I heard the bagpipes.’ So it almost allows people to mourn.”
At one point during the ceremony indoors, a group of young fire recruits in fighting gears marched past a veteran of the many fire emergencies, Lt. Tim Beckwith of the Medford Fire Department said.
“It was a moving moment to watch those young men march past here,” Beckwith said, followed by a nervous laugh to mask the visible emotion he was feeling at that moment. “They are in the Academy right now. So their instructors brought them to experience the moment.”
And Beckwith said two thoughts went through his mind.
“Just so naïve they are about what’s in front of them, and I hope that they all stay safe and that we’re never here for one of them, and I hope that they learn what an honor it is to be part of this brotherhood,” he said. “It’s a wonderful thing.”
Kennedy was a six-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department who had served in Iraq just prior to joining the force. This was a guy, According to his family, who skydived and rode motorcycles and who loved to cook and garden. Kennedy was a Big Brother to a kid from Milton, who quietly slipped out of the church and into one of the waiting funeral limousines heading to the cemetery.
Kennedy’s fire jacket hung on the back of the Ladder 15 fire truck that carried his casket, and flapped in the wind like the dozens of flags along the procession route. The traditional fire department’s ringing of the bells and the mournful sound of bagpipes under a mid-afternoon sun signaled Kennedy’s final sendoff.
