GoFundMe Launched For Firefighter Killed In Baltimore Blaze

BALTIMORE, MD — The Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad has launched a GoFundMe page for one of its members who died Monday morning battling a fire in a vacant row house in southwest Baltimore.

Kenneth Lacayo was one of three firefighters who died in the line of duty when the building collapsed while they were battling the blaze, officials said. A fourth firefighter remains hospitalized.

Lacayo lost his life after suffering cardiac arrest at the scene, according to Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician in chief at the R Adams Cowley University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

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“I would like my son to be remembered as the son of a proud father, loving and caring. He loved his community and the reason I say that is because he loved to help people,” Lacayo's father told NBC 4.

As of Tuesday morning, nearly 200 people have donated to the online fundraiser, raising more than $15,000 in just 12 hours.

All of the money raised will be distributed directly to Lacayo's family to help pay for any final services and funeral arrangements, according to the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Lacayo began his firefighting career as a volunteer at the rescue squad in May 2011 and steadily advanced through the ranks, his department said. He became a firefighter in 2012, a paramedic in 2014 and a founding member of the honor guard in 2017.

Among his many awards, Lacayo received the rescue squad’s award for paramedic of the year in 2016 and was recognized as a top 10 responder in 2015 and 2016. He also received a unit citation in 2018 for his life-saving actions in responding to a pedestrian struck by a car, his GoFundMe page reads.

"His exceptional skills as a firefighter and paramedic were matched only by his bright smile and unfailing good nature," a portion of the online fundraiser reads. "He was dearly loved by his fellow WVRS volunteers and will be greatly missed."

Funeral arrangements are still pending. Lacayo's department said it plans to share further details as they become available.

To donate to Lacayo's GoFundMe page, click here.

Editor's note: GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.