January 10, 2009 Family, community mourn Lt. Kelley Play video

(Stephen Iandoli, NECN) - As traffic flowed again on Huntington Avenue, the clean-up continued following that fatal fire truck crash on Friday afternoon. And families mourned the loss of 30-year veteran firefighter Kevin Kelley -- both his blood family and his community.

Less than a mile from the crash scene, the 52-year-old Lieutenant's comrades followed a longstanding tradition of honoring a fallen firefighter by hanging a black bunting on his firehouse facade. A makeshift memorial sits below.

Flags flew half staff at, and around, Kelley's firehouse. Meanwhile, well-wishers -- some who did not even know the father of three -- left flowers and prayers.

Carlos Arredondo's 20-year-old son, Alex, died in the War in Iraq in 2004. Adding his own scene to the firehouse memorial, Carlos remembered meeting Kevin Kelley when the two shared a personal moment over a letter Alex wrote his dad.

"I had the opportunity to meet him and share that letter with him, and I just came to pay respect," Arredondo said.

NECN's Stephen Iandoli has the story in the video player above.