Firefighter, 47, remembered for lifelong devotion
Brian C. Buell joined the department in Greenwich at age 14
Brian Buell was a lifer with the Greenwich Fire Department, having risen up to the position of deputy fire chief.
Buell, 47, died Friday after a 15-month battle with esophageal cancer, ending his 33-year career after joining the department’s Explorer program at age 14.
“He faced it valiantly,” Greenwich Fire Chief Michael White said Saturday after the passing of his friend and second-in-command at the department. “He gave it everything that he could.”
White said that Buell, who went by the nickname Buelly, was that person in your life you could always depend on, and he spent his time helping to teach and lend a hand to others.
“He is that guy that you could go to for anything,” White said. “He wanted everyone to be good at the (firefighter) craft. His biggest thing was, it’s all for the good of the (fire) company.”
Buell was born Feb. 2, 1975, in Glens Falls, the son of Jeffery and Maureen Buell. He was predeceased by his two infant sons, Dominick and Kain.
In addition to his parents,
He is that guy that you could go to for anything.”
— Michael White Greenwich
Fire Chief
Buell is survived by his wife, Carrie, and his children Ryan, Stephen, Rachel and Bailey.
Calling hours for friends and family are 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Flynn Bros. Funeral Home at 80 Main St. in Greenwich.
The funeral is 11 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich. Burial will follow in Greenwich Cemetery.
Buell graduated from Greenwich Central School in 1994. He worked at Curtis Lumber, DeCrescente Distributors and the Washington County Department of Public Works. Most recently he had been the water treatment operator for the village of Greenwich’s Department of Public Works.
Buell was also a New York State firefighter instructor and the youngest Lifetime Member of the Greenwich Fire Department.