© David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Kathy Crosby-Bell (center) and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (right of Bell)) dedicated the Boston Fire Department’s new, technologically advanced firehose in memory of two fallen firefighters who died while fighting a blaze in the Back Bay in 2014.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other city officials gathered at a local fire station Tuesday to dedicate a stronger and more heat-resistant firehose in tribute to two firefighters who were killed fighting a blaze in the Back Bay.
The ceremony was held at Engine 33 and Ladder 15 on Boylston Street, the same firehouse where Firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, 33, and Fire Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh Jr., 43 were working when they died in the line of duty on March 26, 2014.
The addition of the new “Snap-tite Warrior Fire Hose” was made possible through a donation from the Last Call Foundation, a nonprofit created by Kennedy’s mother, Kathy Crosby-Bell.
Crosby-Bell said her late son would be happy to see his fellow firefighters using this type of hose.
“When Michael died, I was told his hose never got water in that awful fire,” she said at the ceremony. “At Michael’s gravesite, I swore to him I would fix it.”
“It’s my sincerest hope that this firehose keeps Michael working with all of you, keeping you safe, bringing the water you call for at every fire,” she said. “What would be important to Michael is that what happened to him never happens to any of you.”
The two firefighters died while battling a wind-whipped blaze that tore through a Back Bay apartment building, causing a fiery explosion that trapped them in the basement, where they desperately called for help as their water ran low.
Fanned by winds gusting up to 45 miles an hour, the nine-alarm fire blasted up from the basement of the four-story apartment building, triggering a powerful burst that ultimately took the lives of Walsh and Kennedy, despite frantic attempts to save them.
Wu said the city was proud to dedicate the “next generation, thermally superior firehose” in their honor and thanked the Last Call Foundation. She also thanked all city firefighters for their service.
“To keep our communities safe, we must invest in the health and safety of those charged to protect them, and today’s dedication is about that investment in life-saving technology for those whose work is saving lives,” Wu said.
Boston Fire Department Commissioner Paul Burke spoke about how important hoses are in fighting fires, and that this model is stronger and more heat-resistant.
“A firehose does more than just deliver water to the scene of a fire,” Burke said. “It’s a firefighter’s lifeline.”
The donation allowed the department to purchase enough of the new hose to put “100 feet on every engine in our department,” he said. “This new hose will save the lives of firefighters.”
Burke said he hopes that when any firefighter sees the new red hose, “they will think of think of Eddie and Mike — I know I will.”
Edward Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said if this type of firehose had been available in 2014, “it would have been a different story, it would have been a different fire.”
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