A firefighter killed in a house collapse was remembered at his funeral Mass on Friday for his sense of humor and passion for his job.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A firefighter killed in a house collapse was remembered at his funeral Mass on Friday for his sense of humor and passion for his job.
Lt. Matthew LeTourneau had a goofy sense of humor and a fierce love of his nieces and nephews, his brother told mourners at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
« Matt also had a great respect for everyone whom he would meet…. He never wanted anyone to feel left out, » Luke LeTourneau said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Rev. Dennis Gill told mourners LeTourneau was a good and just man who lived his life as the Lord intended.
« He stormed into that house to rescue someone else, » Gill told the crowd. « To lay down your life is never empty. »
Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel recalled LeTourneau’s enthusiasm for the job.
Mayor Jim Kenney, whose father was a firefighter, shared a childhood memory with those gathered.
« I often woke up to the smell of smoke singed into my father’s bunker gear. That sickly smell of smoke was a good thing. Because it meant he had come home, » said Kenney, a Democrat. « Matt did not go home Saturday. And, for his family and friends, there is no solace. »
Afterward, LeTourneau’s flag-draped casket was placed atop an engine as the procession made its way to a cemetery in suburban Philadelphia.
LeTourneau, 42, was fighting a blaze in a North Philadelphia row house when the house collapsed Jan. 6, trapping him under rubble. He was pulled from the home by fellow firefighters and was taken to a hospital. The 11-year veteran was pronounced dead there a short time later.
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