Saluting a Fallen Hero

HARTFORD - On Tuesday, October 7, the City of Hartford, Connecticut, and indeed the entire state of Connecticut and beyond, suffered a great lost during a tragic incident. This was the night that 48-year-old Hartford Firefighter Kevin Bell was killed in the line of duty while battling a two-alarm blaze.

Bell, who was born and raised in the City of Hartford, was a six-year veteran of the Hartford Fire Department. This Weaver High School graduate was first a school security officer in the Hartford Public School System and then became a fire recruit six years ago. On Monday, October 13, literally hundreds of Firefighters, Dignitaries, and family supporters were present for Kevin Bell's funeral service that took place at the First Cathedral Church in Bloomfield, Connecticut. When The Salvation Army was asked to participate, there was no hesitation. As The Salvation Army worldwide has always had a personal connection to first responders, this loss was indeed a great one for us too.

The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services assembled a three-mobile-kitchen-canteen response from around the state, including canteens from Bridgeport, Greater Hartford, and New London. From these canteens, staff and volunteers distributed over 2,000 packages of cookies, 4,000 cups of coffee, and other items, as well as shoulders to cry on, and pastoral care to anyone who needed it. Individuals served included Bell's family and friends, funeral attendees and Firefighters, as well as police traffic posts and logistic personnel, such as police explorers, bus drivers, public works workers, and more.

It was an honor to be there. God bless Kevin Bell and his family, both the family that he left behind and the entire firefighters’ family! Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of grief.