Kilduff, a 24-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department assigned to Rescue Company 2, was a \u201cfirefighter\u2019s firefighter,\u201d Marshall said. He was the first Boston firefighter to die in the line of duty<\/a> in more than a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to stick with us for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no routine fire, there\u2019s no routine call. And you\u2019re never truly safe until you get home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Rows of firefighters, police, and other emergency personnel stood at attention as Kilduff\u2019s body was loaded into an ambulance early Sunday. A few drops of rain punctuated the still night air as the ambulance, fronted by an honor guard of firefighters, drove slowly out of the loading dock on its way to the chief medical examiner\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe wake up every day, put on our pants, we come here to do this job selflessly,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cWe hope to go home every day. But sometimes that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier Saturday, <\/b>Kilduff had rescued someone during an incident involving a train, according to Marshall.<\/span><\/p>\n He was also credited with helping save the life of a fellow firefighter who suffered cardiac arrest while <\/b>battling a fire over a month ago. <\/b>Kilduff accompanied the firefighter on the way to the hospital and performed CPR, according to Sam Dillon, president of the Boston <\/b>firefighter\u2019s union Local 718.<\/span><\/p>\n Dillon said that the city had lost a firefighter, but \u201cgained a hero.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe was our friend, our brother, and a dedicated family man,\u201d he said. \u201cLocal 718 lost one of our best. The city of Boston lost one of its most courageous and dedicated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kilduff, 53, of West Roxbury, was <\/b>a US Marine veteran, a father of two, and <\/b>a third-generation firefighter. His father, who served as a Boston fire lieutenant, died in 2008, according to his obituary<\/a>. The elder Robert Kilduff served as Local 718 vice president and founded the local\u2019s Children\u2019s Fund.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFirefighter Robert Kilduff Jr. came from a family of firefighters, and he held this calling as the highest duty to serve and protect,\u201d Mayor Michelle Wu said during the press conference. \u201cBecause of his actions tonight, working alongside his fellow firefighters, every single resident came out of the flame safe and sound.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Five residents were in the home when the fire broke out around 8 p.m., officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n The fire spread to all three floors and burned through the roof, the Boston Fire Department said on social media. Firefighters worked aggressively with \u201cmultiple ground and aerial ladders\u201d to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent homes.<\/span><\/p>\n Video posted to social media shows large flames from the roof of the building.<\/span><\/p>\n By 8:32 p.m., heavy fire was \u201cknocked down\u201d and firefighters were \u201cusing an aggressive interior and exterior attack to contain the fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A mayday call went out for an injured firefighter, followed by a second report that he was enroute to a hospital with a police escort, according to social media posts by Metrofire.<\/span><\/p>\n The last two Boston firefighters killed in the line of duty were Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh Jr. and Michael R. Kennedy, who died in 2014 while battling a nine-alarm blaze in the Back Bay.<\/span><\/p>\n At the time, Kilduff spoke<\/a> to the Globe about the importance of the somber rituals that were being held to honor the men, the black shroud across uniform badges, posting of the honor guard, and the bagpipes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a show of respect for the family, and it\u2019s a tribute from us as firefighters,\u201d Kilduff, then the director of operations for the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, told the Globe. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to explain, except to say that our job, if you break it all down to the bare bones, [is that] we show up at somebody\u2019s really bad day and try to make it a little better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Adam Sennott, Globe correspondent, contributed to this report.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq<\/a> and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Firefighters](\"https:\/\/bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/MNNK2KAHUQI7FMH7LUNSSN5X4U.jpg?auth=cb5bfc65bf3a2ee7a8b4149d65f4fb203bba90d44a48b2a40fec3763885fdf23&width=1440\")
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