Fallen MA Firefighter's Funeral Set for Weekend
By George Barnes and Mike Elfland
Source Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.
WORCESTER, MA — A hearse carrying the body of Firefighter Christopher Roy paused momentarily Monday as it passed by the Webster Square fire station where the fallen firefighter had been on duty Sunday when he was dispatched to a burning building on Lowell Street.
A procession of fire and police vehicles accompanied the hearse to Boston in the morning and for the return trip to Worcester at mid-afternoon after his body was examined at the chief medical examiner's office. As the procession traveled along the Massachusetts Turnpike, firefighters and police officers from Boston, Wellesley and other communities saluted from overpasses.
Firefighter Roy was later transported to Alfred Roy & Sons Funeral Home. The procession carrying the firefighter's body ended at the Hammond Street funeral home with Worcester firefighters and police officers giving a solemn salute toward the casket as it was removed from the hearse. Calling hours will be held at St. John's Catholic Church, 44 Temple St., from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. John's. Burial will follow at Notre Dame Cemetery on Webster Street.
Firefighter Roy, a member of the Fire Department for 2½ years, was one of two firefighters trapped in a burning apartment building at 7 Lowell St. in Main South early Sunday. Both firefighters were pulled from the building by their peers. Firefighter Roy, the father of a 9-year-old girl, died from his injuries. The other firefighter, whose name has not been released by fire officials, is recovering.
"We're just happy that we have our brother home now," Fire Chief Michael Lavoie said. "It's been a rough couple of days. It's gonna be a long week."
Deputy Chief Martin Dyer and Deputy Chief of Operations Andrew White both trained Firefighter Roy in drill school. They were at the funeral home Monday afternoon.
"He (Roy) was a wonderful person, passionate, loved the job, loved to learn about the job," Chief Dyer said. "It was just evident teaching him that this is everything he wanted to be. And he did it so well. He was a great firefighter and we really appreciate his service and his sacrifice."
Deputy Chief Dyer thanked the community for its support. "The citizens of Worcester have come out for us several times in the past," Deputy Chief Dyer said. "Once again, they have come out for us again. And they have been absolutely tremendous."
On Monday, Firefighter Roy's mother, Michele Roy, remembered her son as a loving father and brother, a history buff and outdoorsman who was devoted above all else to Ava, a fourth-grader at the Calvin Coolidge Elementary School in Shrewsbury.
"He was a kind and generous and giving man who lived for his daughter, Ava; he did everything for her," Mrs. Roy told The Boston Globe. "He raised her as a single dad and made sure she had the best of everything. It was so hard, but he never, ever complained. He loved his daughter so much."
"He was just everything to us," Mrs. Roy said. "He was our world and I don't know how we're going to go on without him. But we have to for Ava, and we will."
Ava has been devastated by the death of her father, she told the Globe. "Her heart is broken and she's trying to be so strong. She has only us."
At the Webster Square fire station a memorial outside the station is growing. Mourners have left flowers, stuffed animals, candles and firefighter-related items. Black bunting was added to the station bays.
Pamela Esposito of Worcester placed a pair of angel wings on the flagpole next to the station. She said it was important for her to be there.
"It's our community," she said. "It's our family."
Doug Perreault of Oxford, a retired firefighter and member of the Fire and Iron firefighter motorcycle group, and Michelle Hayden from Kentucky, also a member of the group, stopped by to pay their respects and light candles.
Many people stopped by the station with food. Some stopped by just to offer condolences.
Jason Lombardi, who said he is a member of a firefighting family, placed a golf shirt from a 2009 Worcester firefighters golf tournament at the memorial. The former Auburn firefighter said the fire on Lowell Street was one of the worst he can remember.
Xenia Maldonado and her mother, Juana Candelario, also stopped by the station and left flowers.
"We just wanted to pay our respects," Ms. Maldonado said.
At the fire scene on Lowell Street on Monday afternoon, an officer from the state fire marshal's office could be seen leading an accelerant-sniffing dog around the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The multifamily building at 7 Lowell St. is one of three properties in the city owned by landlord Richard T. Rawson Sr. of 33 Scenic Drive, Worcester. The others are a three-family at 71 Maywood St. and a multifamily building at 476 Park Ave.
Police have responded to 17 calls at all three apartments at 7 Lowell St. in the past two years, according to Worcester police Lt. Sean Murtha. "There has been some vandalism that might indicate problems with previous tenants," he said.
A memorial fund has been established by Worcester Firefighters IAFF Local 1009 in the name of Firefighter Roy's daughter, Ava Roy. Checks may be made payable to the Ava Roy Fund and mailed directly to the Worcester Fire Department Credit Union, 34 Glennie St., Worcester, MA 01605.
- Reporters Craig S. Semon and Mark Sullivan of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
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