Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "Today has been a very difficult and painful day for the Buffalo Fire Department and the City of Buffalo."
The life of a Buffalo firefighter was lost on Wednesday in a four-alarm fire that destroyed a three-story structure at 745 Main Street in the City of Buffalo. The 37-year-old firefighter was a member of Engine 2, and was caught in a partial collapse of the building shortly after the original call had gone out after 10 a.m. EST.
It was just before 2 p.m. EST when the call went out to firefighters and members of the Buffalo Police Department on sight to stand at attention, as members of the Buffalo Fire Department recovered the body of their fallen brother and carried him to an ambulance waiting nearby.
"It's a very sad very, very tragic day for the Buffalo Fire Department and family," said Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon. "We did have a firefighter who paid the ultimate sacrifice today, bravely fighting that fire at 745 Main Street, and he joins a long line of firefighters who have also paid the ultimate sacrifice over the years in service to the community."
When firefighters carried out the body of their fallen brother Wednesday afternoon, the silence was so deafening one could hear a pin drop to the ground. It is a somber moment that fellow firefighters of Engine 2 and others responding to the scene will have to live with for several years to come.
"All of our firefighters are being monitored as we speak, but more specifically, the crews that were more involved at the scene - Rescue 1, Engine 2," Renaldo said. "Obviously the crew of Engine 2, it was Rescue 1 who actually recovered the firefighter's remains, who were in close contact with that firefighter. So they're being looked at very closely, and a lot of these firefighters are being put off duty right now. They're out of service, and we're bringing in a lot of firefighters on overtime to backfill them."
As Buffalo firefighters grieve and mourn the loss of their brother on duty, Renaldo commended the resiliency of his men and women on the job. He gave them praise for not just their handling of Wednesday's fatal fire, but also the their resiliency in the face of other tragic events in the City of Buffalo over the last several months.
"I mean, resiliency is really an understatement at this point," Renaldo said. "Everyone's swore an oath, they raised their hand to serve the public, serve this community to preserve their property and lives of our citizens in Buffalo. So yeah, it's been a very tough 2022 and a very bad start to 2023, obviously. Yes, it does have an effect, but as I said, we're monitoring the force and we're getting everyone the help that they need."
Renaldo says he got a chance to not only sit down and speak with the family members of the fallen firefighter, but he has also took time to sit with members of the crew that were present at the scene and other members of Engine 2. Others like the past captain of Engine 2 and representatives from Local 282 also arrived to show support for the firefighters.
In addition, members of Buffalo's EAP and 282's EAP (Employee Assistance Program), as well as BestSelf Behavioral Health representatives we're called in to assistance firefighters who may have needed any services following the fatal fire.
As for Fire Chaplain Paul Seil, he, too, was on the scene, offering comfort for not only the firefighters, but also the family of the fallen firefighter.
"It's obviously a devastating time," said Fr. Seil on Wednesday. "This is a young man - to me at age 67, he's like a kid. We and members of the fire department and the union went to his wife... we did see the family, the family came to the site of where he was removed from the building and we said a prayer there, a brief prayer."
Fr. Seil says many chaplains have come from all over Western New York to try to offer some support and comfort to those who responded to Wednesday's fire. This included chaplains from Erie County, the Buffalo Police Department chaplains, Fr. John Gaglione from the county services, as well as Bishop Michael Fisher from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
Despite the amount of support being shown for Buffalo firefighters on Wednesday, Fr. Seil acknowledges it's still an overwhelming situation for many.
"We're human beings, we break, we cry, we have different emotions, and this isn't something that we get over quickly," he said. "We remember these things, and it's just the very opening of this rawest of wounds. So now we try to heal by just supporting one another, and showing that we love one another in the embraces, the tears, and everything. For his immediate family, and then for the family of the Buffalo Fire Department."
As for the type of support Fr. Seil and other chaplains have been able to offer, it's mostly nothing more than just being present for anyone.
"There's nothing you could say," Fr. Seil said. "I represent the church, or a religious community, but I also represent a lot of other people who just want to have someone there to be with them, to show that we care as a community. As a church, community, a religious community, but also as the 'City of Good Neighbors' and as a community that lives here and works here, and as firefighters first responders who risk their lives every day. It's a very kind of tense [situation], but you do what is natural, and naturally it is to listen, to embrace, and maybe to say a brief prayer, if it's appropriate."
Hear more from Wednesday's press briefing with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Commissioner Renaldo and Fr. Seil available in the player below:
