Mother Of Fallen Boston Firefighter Frustrated With Lack Of Action On Welding Safety Bill

CBS Boston

March 17, 2026

Flames glowed from the roof of an old mill building in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood on Saturday. Fire officials report that flames were moving across the roof of 1 Westinghouse Plaza. A firefighter was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest.

Now, this Hyde Park fire is stoking an anger that has lived inside Kathy Crosby-Bell for over a decade. Crosby-Bell's son, Boston Firefighter Michael Kennedy, and fellow firefighter Lt. Edward Walsh were both killed in a Back Bay blaze in 2014. The cause of the fire at a Beacon Street brownstone was determined to be sparks from unpermitted welding work on a windy day.

Boston Fire Lt. Ed Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy died battling a fire in the Back Bay in 2014/CBS Boston

The cause of Saturday's fire in Hyde Park is still under investigation but fire officials say welding was taking place at the building last weekend.

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