A joint memorial service held in Baltimore Wednesday honored Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and Kenny Lacayo, the three firefighters who died in the line of duty last week.
Tony Hall, of Pasadena, Md., holds a United States flag while paying his respects outside of the Baltimore Convention Center during a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire on Jan. 24. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Fire officials embrace prior to a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Fire officials stage before entering the Baltimore Convention Center ahead of a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
A fire official's badge is seen outside of the Baltimore Convention Center during a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire on Jan. 24. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Fire officials from Fairfax County, Va., march into the Baltimore Convention Center ahead of a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Fire officials embrace prior to a funeral service for Baltimore City Fire officials Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Baltimore. The three fire officials died while responding to a vacant row home fire. A fourth firefighter was injured during the blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
BALTIMORE, MD - FEBRUARY 2: Firefighters embrace as they arrive for a memorial service for three fallen Baltimore City Fire Department firefighters at the Baltimore Convention Center on February 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Saddler and EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo were killed when a vacant house collapsed during a fire in West Baltimore last week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Firefighters embrace as they arrive for a memorial service for three fallen Baltimore City Fire Department firefighters at the Baltimore Convention Center on February 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Saddler and EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo were killed when a vacant house collapsed during a fire in West Baltimore last week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
BALTIMORE, MD - FEBRUARY 2: Firefighters from around the region arrive for a memorial service for three fallen Baltimore City Fire Department firefighters at the Baltimore Convention Center on February 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Saddler and EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo were killed when a vacant house collapsed during a fire in West Baltimore last week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
BALTIMORE, MD - FEBRUARY 2: Firefighters and family from around the region arrive for a memorial service for three fallen Baltimore City Fire Department firefighters at the Baltimore Convention Center on February 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Saddler and EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo were killed when a vacant house collapsed during a fire in West Baltimore last week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
A joint memorial service held in Baltimore on Wednesday honored Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and Kenny Lacayo, the three firefighters who died in the line of duty last week.
“When we learned that we lost them, it shook us to the core. The loss of a firefighter, a first responder in the line of duty, is always heartbreaking. To lose three is an unimaginable tragedy,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said during the memorial.
The three were essentially buried by the burning roof, wood, drywall and framing when the entire structure gave way on South Stricker Street, Battalion Chief Christopher Hutson told WTOP in remembering what was the most deadly day in his nearly 25-year career.
“What I can give to all of you gathered here is assurance that Paul, Kelsey and Kenny, their lives and the memories and their ultimate sacrifice will not ever be forgotten,” Hogan told the thousands gathered for the service at the Baltimore Convention Center.
Thousands of first responders, from as far away as Canada and France, attended.
Fire Chief Niles Ford thanked firefighters from around the state who responded to calls while the city’s firefighters attended the memorial, allowing the Baltimore City Fire Department to “grieve as a family.”
“To lose one member of the BCFD family is a terrible tragedy, but to lose three is almost unbearable,” Ford said.
For the first time in its 225-year history, the entire Baltimore City Fire Department was out of service so all could attend the service. Units from D.C. and other regions of Maryland covered Baltimore’s fire calls.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the cause and origin of the blaze. A reward of $100,000 has been offered for information leading to the identification of a “person of interest” captured on surveillance cameras the night before the fire.
Before the memorial began, Tony Hall of Pasadena stood outside the convention center, wearing a U.S. Navy sweatshirt while holding a U.S. flag to pay his respects and say thank you.
“It’s the least I can do,” he said.
Sacrifice is the cornerstone of being a firefighter, and Butrim, Sadler and Lacayo teach us that others come first, International Association of Fire Fighters President Edward Kelly said. They were told that somebody was in danger of dying, he said.
“They decided that that somebody was worth dying for,” Kelly said. “Now that’s some love.”
The fallen firefighters’ legacies will be honored, Mayor Brandon Scott said.
“Each of them has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We all owe them our deepest sense of gratitude, honor, and respect. Not just today, not just tomorrow, but forever, Baltimore will do that,” Scott said. “Forever we will honor them.”
After the memorial, a procession carried the firefighters’ flag-draped caskets to a suburban cemetery, which has a fallen heroes section dedicated to public safety workers who die in the line of duty. Hogan, Scott and fire officials lined up along the side of the street as pallbearers carried three caskets to three fire engines. Behind them, the firefighters’ immediate family members walked together as the trucks passed beneath an enormous U.S. flag suspended between two ladder trucks.
Colleen Kelleher is an award-winning journalist who has been with WTOP since 1996. Kelleher joined WTOP as the afternoon radio writer and night and weekend editor and made the move to WTOP.com in 2001. Now she works early mornings as the site's Senior Digital Editor.
