Robert "Bobby" Kilduff Jr.

Robert "Bobby" Kilduff Jr. died on the night of Saturday, May 23, 2026, after falling from the third floor of a three family home engulfed in a three alarm fire on Treadway Road in Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston. A mayday call went out after his fall, and he was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. He was 53 years old.

Kilduff worked out of Rescue Company 2, based at the Columbus Avenue fire station, and had served with the Boston Fire Department for 24 years. His death marked the first line of duty death of a Boston firefighter in more than a decade.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the public the night Kilduff died, saying that Boston had lost a hero and offering condolences to his family and loved ones on behalf of the city. Boston Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall and Boston Firefighters Local 718 president Sam Dillon both paid tribute to Kilduff as a devoted colleague, with Dillon describing him as a dedicated family man who had served his country as a Marine before becoming a third generation firefighter. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey ordered that flags at state buildings be lowered to half staff in his memory.

In the days that followed, Boston's fire community and the wider public rallied around the Kilduff family. His wake was held on Sunday, June 1, 2026, at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury, drawing a large turnout of firefighters and well wishers. His funeral Mass took place the following day, Monday, June 1, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston's South End, where thousands of mourners, including firefighters from across the country and beyond, gathered to honor him. New England Patriots chairman and chief executive Robert Kraft, whom Kilduff had admired as a lifelong fan, attended the service. His two adult children, Hanna Jane and Mason Kilduff, spoke during the funeral about their father, recalling that his favorite job had always been being a dad.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation pledged to pay off the mortgage on Kilduff's home and to cover his children's education expenses. Investigations into both the cause of the fire and the specific circumstances that led to Kilduff's fatal fall continued for months afterward. On November 4, 2026, officials announced that the fire had been traced to improperly charged or stored lithium ion batteries, though separate inquiries by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Boston Fire Department's Board of Inquiry into the line of duty death itself were still ongoing.