Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
It was a sad farewell for hero local firefighter
Firefighers from across the region converged in Philly to say goodbye to one of their own.
PHILADELPHIA » There was a large outpouring of support for the fallen firefighter Lt. Matthew LeTourneau Thursday as police, fire, friends and family gathered to pay their final respects, less than a week after he was killed battling a blaze.
Those who new him said LeTourneau took firefighter safety extremely seriously, was a sponge for knowledge, and was forever studying new techniques on how to save a life.
Close allies from his first department at the Springfield Fire Co., where he served until 2007, and firefighters he fought alongside in the Philadelphia Fire Department, joined those from across Pennsylvania and as far as Washington, D.C., at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.
“It’s been amazing the outpouring of affection for Lt. LeTourneau ... so many people knew him in a very personal way,” said Delaware County Council Chairman John McBlain, who arrived at the viewing services with fellow council members Michael Kulp, Kevin Madden and Colleen Morone and Delaware County Executive Director Marianne Grace.
The members of council said it’s been clear in the last week of speaking with LeTourneau’s family that a man who impacted the lives of many was lost, but his contributions to the fire service will not be forgotten
“It seems like with Matt, so many people had close personal relationships with him, and he was known, liked and respected by everyone in the community,” McBlain said.
Kulp, whose wife was familiar with the fallen firefighters’ extended family, and himself a coach for LeTourneau’s nephew in a Springfield flag football league, said LeTourneau’s personality left an impact after a few brief meetings.
“He was very detailed oriented, loved to play golf at the Springfield County Club. It’s such a shame,” Kulp said, adding that just by standing in line, which wrapped around the building and down the Ben Franklin Parkway, he learned even more about the influence LeTourneau had on many fellow firefighters.
Wearing a Springfield Fire Co. letterman jacket from the late 1980s outside the basilica Thursday was firefighter Michael Carney, the former deputy chief at the Folcroft Fire Co., who was the senior firefighter at Springfield when LeTourneau was just beginning his firefighting career.
“In 10 or 15 years, Matt could have been a fire commissioner in Philadelphia. He was that passionate and a sponge for learning,” Carney said.
Carney said as a senior firefighter, it was his task to take the new firefighters under his wing and teach them proper safety techniques. He was proud to years later see that LeTourneau had become a safety officer himself in Delaware County.
“He was one of the safest guys I knew. He taught firefighter survival,” Carney said.
LeTourneau will be laid to rest Friday morning following a funeral procession in Center City. Starting at 8:15 a.m., engines will travel from 21st and Market streets in Philadelphia to 18th Street where they will north to the Cathedral.
A public viewing will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the basilica to be followed by remarks from remembrance from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel and LeTourneau’s brother Luke.
The funeral Mass, which is open to the public, will begin at 11 a.m.
After Mass, those in attendance will be directed to the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery at 1600 S. Sproul Road in Springfield where a large outpouring of support from members of the fire and rescue community in Delaware County and Philadelphia is expected to pay their final respects.