Chief Luis Santiago and 18 Toledo Firefighters traveled to Boston to support and honor the two Boston firefighters that died in the Line of Duty.
Lt. Edward Walsh, Jr., and Firefighter Michael Kennedy died during firefighting operations at a 9-alarm fire in Boston on March 26, 2014, just two months after the tragic fire in which the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department lost Private Steve Machcinski, and Private Jamie Dickman.
It is not uncommon for Toledo Firefighters to travel to other cities to honor fallen comrades, but, in memory of our loss of Steve and Jamie, it was especially important to attend these services for Lt. Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy.
Two vans of firefighters left for Boston, one on Monday morning, and one on Tuesday morning. Those firefighters traveling to Boston: Private Tony Santiago, Private Rachel Doran, Private Jim Swartz, Private Greg Szumigala, Private Justin Stark, Capt. Dan Brown-Martinez, Private Mike Lester, Capt. Jeff Romstadt, Private Kyle Romstadt, Lt. Brian Henry, Private Brody Henry, Private Ryan Tester, Capt. Luke Harman, Capt. Mike Armstrong, Private Jerry O’Brien, Private Scott Hathaway, Private Tony Segura, and Private Keith Szenderski.
The group will be returning on Thursday and Friday. So far this year, 33 firefighters have died in the Line of Duty, may they all Rest In Peace.