Kilduff, a 24-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department assigned to Rescue Company 2, was a “firefighter’s firefighter,” Marshall said. He was the first Boston firefighter to die in the line of duty in more than a decade.
“It’s going to stick with us for a long time,” he said. “There’s no routine fire, there’s no routine call. And you’re never truly safe until you get home.”
Rows of firefighters, police, and other emergency personnel stood at attention as Kilduff’s body was loaded into an ambulance early Sunday. A few drops of rain punctuated the still night air as the ambulance, fronted by an honor guard of firefighters, drove slowly out of the loading dock on its way to the chief medical examiner’s office.
“We wake up every day, put on our pants, we come here to do this job selflessly,” Marshall said. “We hope to go home every day. But sometimes that doesn’t happen.”
Firefighters and other emergency personnel salute as an ambulance bearing the body of Robert Kilduff Jr. leaves Boston Medical Center. Kilduff, a former marine, and third generation firefighter died after he was injured at the scene of a fire in Dorchester earlier in the day.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
Earlier Saturday, Kilduff had rescued someone during an incident involving a train, according to Marshall.
He was also credited with helping save the life of a fellow firefighter who suffered cardiac arrest while battling a fire over a month ago. Kilduff accompanied the firefighter on the way to the hospital and performed CPR, according to Sam Dillon, president of the Boston firefighter’s union Local 718.
Dillon said that the city had lost a firefighter, but “gained a hero.”
“He was our friend, our brother, and a dedicated family man,” he said. “Local 718 lost one of our best. The city of Boston lost one of its most courageous and dedicated.”
Kilduff, 53, of West Roxbury, was a US Marine veteran, a father of two, and a third-generation firefighter. His father, who served as a Boston fire lieutenant, died in 2008, according to his obituary. The elder Robert Kilduff served as Local 718 vice president and founded the local’s Children’s Fund.
Firefighters wait leaning against their engines outside Boston Medical Center following the death of Robert Kilduff Jr. Josh Reynolds for The Boston Glo
“Firefighter Robert Kilduff Jr. came from a family of firefighters, and he held this calling as the highest duty to serve and protect,” Mayor Michelle Wu said during the press conference. “Because of his actions tonight, working alongside his fellow firefighters, every single resident came out of the flame safe and sound.”
Five residents were in the home when the fire broke out around 8 p.m., officials said.
The fire spread to all three floors and burned through the roof, the Boston Fire Department said on social media. Firefighters worked aggressively with “multiple ground and aerial ladders” to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent homes.
Video posted to social media shows large flames from the roof of the building.
By 8:32 p.m., heavy fire was “knocked down” and firefighters were “using an aggressive interior and exterior attack to contain the fire.”
A mayday call went out for an injured firefighter, followed by a second report that he was enroute to a hospital with a police escort, according to social media posts by Metrofire.
The last two Boston firefighters killed in the line of duty were Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh Jr. and Michael R. Kennedy, who died in 2014 while battling a nine-alarm blaze in the Back Bay.
At the time, Kilduff spoke to the Globe about the importance of the somber rituals that were being held to honor the men, the black shroud across uniform badges, posting of the honor guard, and the bagpipes.
“It’s a show of respect for the family, and it’s a tribute from us as firefighters,” Kilduff, then the director of operations for the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, told the Globe. “It’s really hard to explain, except to say that our job, if you break it all down to the bare bones, [is that] we show up at somebody’s really bad day and try to make it a little better.”
Adam Sennott, Globe correspondent, contributed to this report.
A woman reacts during a news conference outside Boston Medical Center following the death of Robert Kilduff Jr.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
