One of two Boston firefighters killed Wednesday in a nine-alarm fire was planning to run the Boston Marathon next month with a bib he received for writing an essay about his experience as a first responder after last year’s bombings.
Michael R. Kennedy, 33, died in the basement of the four-story brownstone on Beacon Street in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood during a wind-whipped fire, the cause of which is still not known.
A Boston native and Marine Corps combat veteran who saw action in Iraq, Kennedy was assigned to Engine 33, Ladder 15 on the corner of Boylston and Hereford streets. He had been a firefighter for six years.
After meeting with Kennedy’s colleagues at the station, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said they’d told him Kennedy — who worked as a Crossfit trainer on his days off — was planning to run the Boston Marathon along with several of his fellow firefighters.
The others, Patrick said, now planned to run in his honor.
“I think their intention is to run. And if it were even possible, that will add another level of solemnity to the occasion,” the governor said.
Also killed was Kennedy’s lieutenant, Edward J. Walsh Jr., a 43-year-old father of three. Eighteen other firefighters and police officers were injured.
A memorial fund for both men has been set up at the Boston Firefighter's Credit Union, 60 Hallet St., Dorchester, MA. 02124.
