On January 9, 2009, Lt. Kevin Kelley of the Boston Fire Department was killed when the rig he was riding crashed, while returning to quarters.

Photos posted at the many firefighter websites show Boston FD Ladder 26 penetrating a brick building.

Lt. Kevin Kelley was a 30-year veteran of the department. Video footage of his funeral showed a procession befitting of a fallen hero and one described as the “bravest of the brave”.

At 30 years in the service of his beloved Boston FD, Lt. Kelley was adding the final chapters to his colorful career with appearances on Firehouse USA: Boston.

His blue collar/no bullshit approach to his craft endeared him to his men, his fire department, community and a nation of brothers and sisters. His attitude and his love for the job were crystal clear during his camera time on Firehouse USA.

Tribute upon tribute confirms that Lt. Kelley still had a boyish excitement about going to work every shift and that is extraordinary, because with 30 years in, you have had plenty of time to be hurt, to be discouraged, disheartened, frustrated; to become bitter, disillusioned, confused, angry and contemplative of tossing it all.

Lt. Kelley didn’t do that. He drew his strength from brotherhood and I believe that he wouldn’t allow anything-emotion or politics-to drive a wedge into it. And that’s why I think that Lt. Kevin Kelley would be disappointed to read and to see some of the reactions to his tragic death.

I never knew him and I never met him. I cannot tell you any “Two-Times” stories. I only know of him through the power of multi-media.

But, I am also NOT going to say that all I need to know is that he was a firefighter, because from what I have seen in video and read about him, I want to know more about Lt. Kevin Kelley.

I want to read those stories about a 30-year guy who loved every minute of his time on this Earth, taking care of business and not allowing anything else to complicate it.

We didn’t lose another firefighter. We lost a national treasure. This was a guy who had something worth hearing, because you knew it was coming from the heart.

I would have loved to have gone and listened to him talk about his craft, but I don’t think we would have seen him on the lecture circuit, because it was never about HIM. He was just happy to go to work.

So, I’m going to let the city hall jag-offs spin damage control.

I’m going to let the other fire service pundits speculate on a myriad of possible causes.

But I will NOT allow mutts to use Lt. Kevin Kelley’s tragic death to promote their self-serving and insidious agendas, because he deserves WAY better than that.

Normally, I would be screaming for accountability, but I can’t this time; not yet anyway. I am still shaken by the fact that Lt. Kevin Kelley will NEVER get to look back on his glorious career as a jake and to know that he made a difference and touched so many lives.

I intend to honor him because he touched my life and reminded me that pride and integrity still counts for something and to never, ever take for granted what we do and to remember that it is of the highest privilege that we are allowed to be a part of this great nation’s fire service.

God bless you, Lt. Kevin Kelley.

Published 1/15/09

The article as submitted is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. xchief22 and ChiefReason. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-printed in any form without expressed permission from the author.