NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - The nonprofit organization Tunnel to Towers Foundation has paid in full the mortgage on the home of fallen Newburyport Firefighter Brett Burkinshaw.
Burkinshaw, who served his community for nearly two decades, passed away on July 1, after a 19-month battle with job-related brain cancer.
He began his firefighting career at 16 years old when he became a call firefighter for the West Newbury Fire Department.
Burkinshaw worked for the Essex County Sheriff’s Department during and after college.
He then went on to become a call firefighter for the Newburyport Fire Department in 2003 and then a full-time firefighter in 2010.
Burkinshaw was also a reserve officer for the Newburyport Police Department, as well as the fire alarm superintendent in Newburyport.
In a small ceremony at the Burkinshaw home, attended by Newburyport Fire Department, Newburyport Police Department, along with friends and family of Burkinshaw, Tunnel to Towers officials announced the final mortgage payment on the Burkinshaw’s home.
His wife, Cheryl Burkinshaw, said that “Home is where the heart is, and where we have so many happy memories with Brett.”
“Knowing that my daughter and I will have the security of our forever home being mortgage-free is impossible to put into words,” she continued. “Brett’s passion for life was to help others and that is reflected in the true meaning of this Foundation.”
Tunnel to Towers is dedicated to supporting first responders, veterans and their families in communities across the United States.
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