'The bravest among us:' firefighters with Cecil ties killed battling Baltimore blaze

Killed in the line of duty were Lt. Paul Butrim, a 37-year-old Colora resident who was a 16-year BCFD veteran; Firefighter/Paramedic Kelsey Sadler, a Harford County resident who was a 15-year veteran with the department; and EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo, a Wheaton resident who was a seven-year BCFD veteran.

The other BCFD member who was trapped in that row-home, EMT/Firefighter John McMaster, remained in University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Unit in Baltimore on Tuesday, according to fire officials, who further reported that his condition had been upgraded from “critical but stable” to “conscious and alert.” McMaster, 48, has served approximately seven years with the BCFD.

McMaster is a former Cecil County resident who graduated from North East High School in 1992, according to a woman who has been friends with the McMaster family for more than 40 years. That woman, who attends a Cecil County church with McMaster’s parents, asked to remain anonymous. (The Cecil Whig has interacted with the woman periodically over the past few years.)

Sadler had strong ties to Cecil County through friendships, although she lived in Abingdon, the Cecil Whig learned.

BCFD was battling a blaze at a vacant row-home in the 200 block of South Stricker Street at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Monday, when the structure collapsed, trapping Butrim, Lacayo, Sadler and McMaster, who was extricated from the burning, three-story building relatively quickly, fire officials reported.

It took approximately one hour, however, for firefighters to reach and rescue two of the trapped BCFD members, who were then transported to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead, fire officials said. The remaining firefighter was pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials added.

As with his fellow BCFD firefighters, Butrim was trained to enter burning buildings — sometimes before fellow crew members had a chance to start hosing the structure — and make search-and-rescue efforts.

In 2015, Firehouse Magazine reportedly recognized Butrim with a Valor Award for entering a burning apartment, finding a trapped child, rescuing the youngster and then performing CPR until paramedics arrived.

Although Butrim lived in Colora and worked as a paid firefighter in the city, he did not serve with any volunteer fire companies in Cecil County, local fire officials told the Cecil Whig.

Butrim did, however, serve with Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company in Harford County from 2003, when he would have been about 18, and 2017, according to JMVFC Chief Kevin Thomas.

“I think he got his start here,” said Thomas, who joined JMVFC in 2007, about four years after Butrim had joined the department.

Thomas worked closely with Butrim during the 10 years that they served together, he said. Butrim left JMVFC in 2017 because he had graduated to other responsibilities, he added.

“He was an all-around good guy. He was well-trained, and he was always willing to help,” Thomas told the Cecil Whig on Monday night, before noting that Butrim was JMVFC’s “top responder for several years in a row.”

Butrim enjoyed baseball and hockey, Thomas said. He participated in some of JMVFC’s social activities, including playing in the fire departments’ softball league, Thomas added.

Summarizing Butrim without hesitation, Thomas commented, “Honestly, he was one of the best.”

As for Lacayo, when he wasn’t working as a paid EMT/Firefighter with the BCFD, he served with the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad in Montgomery County. A memorial tribute to Lacayo has been posted on the WVRS’s Facebook page.

“Kenny joined the Rescue Squad in May of 2011 and steadily advanced through the ranks. He became a firefighter in 2012, a paramedic in 2014, and a founding member of the Honor Guard in 2017. Among his many awards he received the Rescue Squad’s award for paramedic of the year in 2016 and was recognized as a top ten 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,” a section of the post reads.

It continues, “His exceptional skills as a firefighter and paramedic were matched by his bright smile and his unfailing good nature. He was dearly loved by his fellow WVRS volunteers and will be greatly missed.”

The Cecil Whig was unable to obtain additional information about Sadler and Butrim. The Washington Post reported that surviving family members of Sadler and Butrim declined to be interviewed.

McMaster, who remained hospitalized on Tuesday, decided to become a firefighter at approximately 40 years old, after working for the Bank of America, according to a friend of the McMaster family.

“This was not a lifelong dream of his. He decided later in life to become a firefighter, and that’s what he did. He took all of the training and joined (the BCFD),” the family friend told the Cecil Whig, approximating that the BCFD hired McMaster about six or seven years ago.

The family friend opined that McMaster would recover from his physical injuries, but she expressed concern about the emotional impact the tragic deaths of three of his fellow BCFD members would have on him. “It’s going to be very difficult,” she commented.

In a written statement issued Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott expressed, “Today, Baltimore has lost three of the bravest among us. All made the ultimate sacrifice. For that, Baltimore owes them the deepest gratitude and respect.”

It further reads, “This is a gut wrenching tragedy for our city, the Baltimore City Fire Department, and most importantly the families of our firefighters. There are no words to describe the pain and the severity of the losses we have suffered today. My heart is with the Firefighters, their families, and the entire Baltimore City Fire Department who put the lives and safety of others before their own wellbeing each and every day. I ask that all of Baltimore keep them in our prayers during this extremely difficult time.”