Hundreds Expected At Funeral For Boston Firefighter Killed In Blaze

[April 02, 2014]  BOSTON (Reuters) — Hundreds of firefighters from across the United States are expected to pack into a Boston-area church on Wednesday for the funeral of one of two firefighters who died battling a blaze in a Boston apartment building last week.

Fire companies from Los Angeles to Baltimore, Maryland, are expected to attend the funeral mass for Boston Fire Department Lieutenant Edward Walsh, which will be held at St. Patrick's Church in Watertown, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.

Walsh, 43, and Firefighter Michael Kennedy, 33, died on March 26, while battling a roaring fire in a four-story apartment building in Boston's historic Back Bay neighborhood. Some 150 firefighters responded to the blaze and more than 17 firefighters were injured. No residents of the building were hurt.

Kennedy's funeral will follow on Thursday at Holy Name Church in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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