Thousands of firefighters are paying their final respects to a Worcester firefighter who died battling a house fire

December 15, 2018 12:38 pm

By The Associated Press

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WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Thousands of firefighters from Worcester and elsewhere are honoring a fallen city firefighter who died battling an early morning house fire last weekend.

A procession of firefighters, fire trucks, and bag pipers made its way Saturday morning through city streets to St. John’s Catholic Church for the funeral of 36-year-old firefighter Christopher Roy. His casket was placed atop the Worcester Fire Department’s Engine 5. It was draped in a blue flag.

Other uniformed firefighters lined the streets in formation, saluting the casket as it passed by.

An overflow of mourners watched the funeral on TV monitors.

Roy was hurt in the pre-dawn fire last Sunday, and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Shrewsbury resident was a single father who leaves behind his 9-year-old daughter Ava.