WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts city is paying tribute to a fallen firefighter who died battling a blaze on this day one year ago.
Bagpipes sounded, 21 guns saluted, firefighters stood at attention despite a steady rain as the fateful call that would be Christopher Roy’s last echoed from the Webster Square firehouse.
“We’re proud of the sacrifice he made last year,” Roy’s brother Jay said.
Jay, along with Roy’s 10-year-old daughter, Ava marked the occasion by placing a wreath next to a new memorial erected in the hero’s honor.
The new statue depicts a firefighter’s helmet and axe with the word “perseverance” inscribed on the handle.
“It was Chris. The line of ‘perseverance’ that was put on the axe handle, that’s something that he lived by well before his death,” Roy’s brother said.
The memorial was funded in part by a donation from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
“I just wanted to come here out of respect to you on this occasion and tell you that we understand the risk you take to make our lives better,” Kraft told the assembled crowd.
The community and the department that Christopher Roy serves promises never to forget.
“It’s such a tragic loss both for the firefighters, our Worcester Fire Department, and especially the Roy family,” Chief Michael Lavoie said.
2019 has been a difficult year for the Worcester Fire Department.
In November, Lieutenant Jason Menard was killed battling a house fire.
Earlier this month, the city marked 20 years since the cold storage fire that claimed the lives of six firefighters.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)