Community remembers Burlington Firefighter Colin McFadden as he’s laid to rest Thursday

As the procession honoring the life of a 26-year-old Burlington firefighter and EMT who died after responding to a blaze in New Hartford earlier this month, passed through his hometown of Bristol Thursday afternoon, two children stood outside the nearby firehouse holding signs that read “thank you for your bravery.”

Colin McFadden, who joined the volunteer fire department six years ago, was one of 100 firefighters who worked at the three-alarm scene on Aug. 10. McFadden suddenly fell ill at the blaze and was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and later was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia. He died two days later.

“He was a keystone kind of guy that you could always count on,” Richard Lambert, the captain of the Bristol Community Emergency Response Team and who knew the firefighter for 12 years, said. “If there was a list of people who were going to participate, he was always on the top of the list.”

McFadden had joined the fire service at 20 years old, a logical step in his lifelong love of emergency services.

He was known for his community involvement, including helping with COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites, the Farmers to Family program which provided food to residents and nonprofits and being the “key guy” a part of the Insurance City Radio Club, a ham-radio group based out of Bloomington.

“He was the only guy who really knew everything,” Lambert said. “He was the youngest member we had, so it’s very sad to lose him.”

Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, McFadden grew into an advocate, joining peers from the FOCUS Center for Autism in speaking to large groups and the legislature to increase awareness.

An Eagle Scout, McFadden gave back to Shepard Meadows Riding Center, the therapeutic riding center where he once rode, by building a bridge for horses and riders, his obituary said. He was also a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and with Bristol’s Community Emergency Response Team.

“He pours his heart and his soul into everything he does,” Burlington Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Boucher said last Thursday. “He’s even a little bit quirky and you know, we all kind of bust on him for it, but that was showing him some love.”

Boucher added that McFadden was nothing but fearless.

“At this call, there was a house that had a humungous bee’s nest that they found out and the bees started swarming,” Boucher recalled. “Everyone’s like ‘Colin! Watch out for the bees!’ He walked right through the bees, took care of business and one of the other guys ended up getting stung. ... He was fearless no matter what the assignment was. He did it and didn’t complain about doing it.”

Hundreds of firefighters and first responders across the state gathered outside Saint Matthew Church where McFadden’s funeral service was held. McFadden’s father and Chief Boucher closed the ceremony off with eulogies. His coffin, a Navy blue that matched his fellow firefighter’s blue suits, was also plated with fire department tags on the corners. Three bells rang following the service, to honor the 26-year-old, before he was taken to Saint Joseph’s cemetery as his final resting place.

“One of the things that is history in the fire service is the tolling of the bells, and what you’ll hear is that the firefighter’s life is surrounded by the tolling of the bells. It signals the start of their day, it signals when there’s a fire, it signals when it’s time to go back to the station,” Mark Amatrudo, the commander of Connecticut’s statewide honor guard, said. “The bell is in tribute to and in honor of what Colin did for the Burlington Fire Department and the Town of Burlington.”

His obituary said that the 26-year-old had an interest in lights and sirens since he began speaking.

“He could hear approaching emergency sirens long before anyone else. He loved pointing out railroad crossings, fire alarms, and emergency vehicles,” his obituary read.

McFadden’s love of emergency services continued into his free time as well, where he would often play video games that were centered around emergency response.

“We’d be sitting in hours-long calls and I would hear his fire tones go off in the background and he’d say ‘I got to go!’ and he’d leave it on so we could hear him on the radio as he went to whatever call he was sent out to,” Johann Thomsen, a friend who met McFadden online in 2019, said. “We would sit there and listen to him do his thing and we were always very proud of him.”

McFadden is the second Connecticut firefighter to lose his life in the line of duty this year, Amatrudo said.

“We’ve averaged about one every five years and about 90 firefighters are killed in the line of duty every year,” he said, before adding that working in life-or-death situations contributes to the brother and sisterhood in the field.

”There were firefighters that were standing next to him one minute and the next minute he was being rendered aid and being taken to the hospital. So you will see that there’s a family feeling between those firefighters and all working together,” Amatrudo said. “Most of the firefighters here today did not know Colin, but just the fact he gave his life in the service of his department or his community is reason enough to come out.”

Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@ocurant.com.