A final salute for a lifetime of service
Like so many of his brother and sister first responders, Matt LeTourneau never hesitated when the alarm sounded.
His job was to serve and protect. It was a job he took seriously.
That is why he entered a burning row home in North Philadelphia Saturday morning. It was that very same burning sense of service to the community that first drew him to the life of a firefighter.
He wanted to help people. If that meant putting his life on the line, he accepted that as part of the job. He wanted to save lives. And he did so again and again. He also wanted to help people, not just family or friends. Sometimes total strangers. And not just people. He developed a reputation for his work saving animals as well.
It was in that spirit that Lt. Matt LeTouneau again entered the conflagration Saturday morning on North Colorado Street. He became trapped during a structural collapse inside the burning home. Once freed from the debris, he was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he died.
The sense of loss and reverberations of anguish did not take long to wash across the region.
Nowhere was that felt more than right here in Delaware County. It’s where LeTouneau grew up, and where he still lived.
And it’s where the sense of community service first burned inside his heart.
LeTouneau, a 1993 graduate of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, first volunteered when he was 16. He was a longtime member of Springfield Fire Co., which he joined in July 1991.
It was in his blood. His grandfather had served as a firefighter in Chester.
“This is where he started, what put him on the path to be a career firefighter,” said Tom Foran, acting deputy chief in Springfield.
It did not take long for LeTouneau to make firefighting his life pursuit. That dream was realized when he became a member of the Philadelphia Fire Co. LeTouneau was an 11-year veteran of the city department. He served with Engine 43 and Engine 47, and was promoted to lieutenant in 2015. He was serving with Engine 45/Platoon A Saturday morning.
But LeTouneau never lost his connection to his roots here in Delaware County.
Those closest to him all mention the same thing – how many lives LeTourneau touched. It was not just members of the public who benefitted from LeTourneau’s sense of community service, but also fellow firefighters whose careers he helped mold.
LeTouneau’s expertise was in training. He held an associate degree in fire science from Delaware County Community College and was a constant presence at the Delaware County Emergency Services Training Center.
He researched firefighting efforts and talked and learned from experts in the industry, including engineers at Underwriters Laboratories Firefighter Safety Research Institute and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Talk to those who knew him best, the men and women who served beside him, and one word constantly comes up in the conversation. Trainer. Matt LeTouneau loved firefighting – and he wanted to pass his knowledge along.
Fellow Springfield Fire Co. member Bill Lavery said training became “second nature” to LeTouneau, whom he said was constantly urging fellow firefighters to build their firefighting skills.
He taught classes at the Delaware County Emergency Services Center, including fire behavior.
Training Center Deputy Director Kerby Kerber said the loss of LeTouneau is felt on several levels. First there is the personal anguish of the loss of a fellow firefighter. But there also is a greater loss, the absence of one who had so much to offer to others.
“He saw it as his duty to make sure that those serving with him and following him in the service were better trained and educated,” Kerby said.
His fellow Springfield firefighting brethren saw it first hand.
“He learned as much as he could as quick as he could,” said Springfield firefighter Scott Pomante. “He kept training and he preached to people to never stop training. You can never learn too much in the fire service.”
It is a legacy of community, of service, of dedication, preparation and training that saved lives – and will continue to save lives every day.
R.I.P., Lt. LeTouneau. Your job is done. But your legacy will live on in those you trained and molded to do what you did so well – answer the alarm.