Trailblazer: Patty Kenneally Donovan – First Female Firefighter in Boston celebrating 40 years on the job.

Patty Kenneally Donovan is celebrating 40 years as a member of the Boston Fire Department last month.   Kenneally Donovan is a South Boston resident, a wife, a mom, a coach, a volunteer, and just so happens to be the first female firefighter on the Boston Fire Department.

According to a social media post by Kenneally Donovan’s daughter, Aislinn Donovan, after nine weeks of training with 55 men, she became the first female firefighter in the City of Boston on October 31, 1984.

In addition to scaling a 6-story building, she handled water lines that  pumped more than 80 pounds of pressure. Kenneally Donovan made her way through smoke-filled mazes and passed her written exam with “flying colors.”  Starting her career as a firefighter at Engine 50 in Charlestown, she’s worked all over the city and most recently has become the first female fire investigator for the Boston Fire Department.

One Incredible Story of Dedication and Loyalty

Back in 2014, Lt. Edward Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy died in a 9-alarm fire in Back Bay.  Members of Local 718 – Boston Firefighters Union, went to the home of Walsh’s wife Kristen and asked if there was anything they could do for her or her three children. Kristen asked for her husband’s wedding band. Kenneally Donovan found that ring.

The following excerpt is from a story written by columnist Kevin Cullen for the Boston Globe:

Last Wednesday, after they stood in her West Roxbury living room and told Kristen Walsh that her husband, Boston Fire Lieutenant Edward Walsh, had just been killed in the Back Bay, Richie Paris and Ed Kelly wanted to ease her pain.

“What can we do for you, Kristen?” asked Kelly, a Boston firefighter and president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts.

“Anything,” Richie Paris, head of Local 718 of the Boston firefighters, added. “You name it. Anything.

(She wanted her husband’s wedding band.  The ring was not on Walsh’s hand when his body was removed from the Beacon Street address where the fire took place.  It was common knowledge at Engine 33/Ladder 15 that Walsh wore his wedding ring while on the job which meant it might be found at the site of his death.)

(District) Chief Magee vowed they would find that ring.

Magee’s charges from the investigation unit, Lieutenant Kevin McCarthy and Firefighters Richard Taylor and Patricia Kenneally Donovan, took charge of the Beacon Street fire scene Tuesday afternoon. They went right for the spot where Walsh’s brother firefighters had pulled out his body.

It was dirty work, sifting through the charred debris and soot. They searched for hours, and at one point Kevin McCarthy worried they would never find it. He and the others were on their hands and knees, like prospectors, just hoping to get lucky.

And just before 6 p.m., Patty Kenneally Donovan, the first woman appointed to the Boston Fire Department and a veteran firefighter whose father, husband, and two brothers were on the job, found the ring.

“I’ve got it!” she yelled, and it was the first joyous moment for an entire department, an entire extended family, indeed a whole city, in a week.

In no time, there was a convoy of fire vehicles heading toward Watertown, where Eddie Walsh’s wake was taking place at St. Patrick’s Church. Kelly and Paris went to the lower church and told Walsh’s and Kennedy’s grieving brother firefighters what had just happened. The firefighters from Engine 33 and Ladder
15 streamed upstairs and approached Kristen Walsh, who was in the front pew of the upper church, a few feet from the casket that held her husband.

You can see Kenneally Donovan recall the story here via BFD’s twitter. 

Thanks to Kenneally Donovan paving the way, there are now (approximately) twenty women firefighters on the job for the BFD! “I’m very proud to be a Boston firefighter and the work we do everyday. I would not change it for the world.”

Special thank you to Aislinn Donovan for photos and history! 

21 Comments

  1. Fred Finn March 8, 2022 at 9:32 pm - Reply

    1 of the BEST !!!

  2. xbxbxbxbxb March 23, 2022 at 2:42 pm - Reply

    Not the first. There were 16 in 2018 alone. Countless lawsuits won by them due to sexual abuse, violence, threats, disturbing harassment with items left in their lockers. Cars. Google Nathalie Delsoin or “Boston has just 16 female firefighters” and Boston Globe.

    • Maureen Dahill March 23, 2022 at 6:38 pm - Reply

      Patty has been on the BFD since 1984. She was the first.

      • Rhonda March 13, 2023 at 8:03 am - Reply

        Great job ladies , I had a friend who was also one of the bfd woman , she had alot of issues in the beginning but never gave up , she was just as tough as any of those guys ,she worked with her husband for years at the station ,she had to switch because of issues , but loved her job and didn’t let them take over her dream ,

    • Maybe Look Into… March 9, 2023 at 2:34 pm - Reply

      …some basic reading comprehension lessons?

  3. Bobby Diggins 👞👞 March 8, 2023 at 3:45 pm - Reply

    Beautiful, under very Trying Circumstances, well done & Much Respect… 🙏💚🙏👍

  4. Grigalunas Mike. March 9, 2023 at 7:54 am - Reply

    The women had a tough time working at fire. Take my hat off to them. Congratulations great job

  5. Elena rios cantu March 9, 2023 at 2:00 pm - Reply

    Wow what an amazing story ! She’s awesome! So happy she found the wedding ring . Her family must be so proud of her .

  6. Linda Lynch March 9, 2023 at 3:05 pm - Reply

    Patty, in general, is also just a great person with a happy personality. So glad she followed through her dream.

  7. Rev. Francis X. McGerity March 9, 2023 at 3:53 pm - Reply

    Was she a relative of the Kenneally’s who lived on Broadway between O and N next to the current
    South Boston Catholic Academy. My Grand Aunt Winifred Weare was a friend of a Kay Kenneally.

  8. TC March 10, 2023 at 9:34 am - Reply

    Great story HAPPY FRIDAY

  9. Willa Burnett March 10, 2023 at 12:22 pm - Reply

    thank you for your service. I became familiar with you and your work thru my niece Tory Cyrus who is an Everett firefighter. 🙌

  10. mplo March 10, 2023 at 1:29 pm - Reply

    What a sweet story! Glad that everything turned out so well, after a rather rough and difficult time! It’s great to have women as firefighters, and to hold other jobs, as well, that were previously only open to men.

  11. Kevin ONeill March 30, 2024 at 10:51 am - Reply

    The firefighting Kenneally’s. A great Mission Hill family

  12. Wendy March 30, 2024 at 3:29 pm - Reply

    I was one of the first female firefighters where I lived. Best job in the world.

  13. Karen Flaherty March 30, 2024 at 7:34 pm - Reply

    My Dad – John Varner-was the Captain at Engine 50 when Patty started. He had the utmost respect for her, and she for him.

  14. Linda butler April 9, 2024 at 9:41 pm - Reply

    You have made a Hugh impact on boston and all I would like to say is thank you for all your service

  15. Maureen Murray November 7, 2024 at 2:18 pm - Reply

    Patty – you’re a star. I was so happy to see you on Channel 7 News last weekend and couldn’t wait to text you that night to tell you how proud I was! I’ll never forget seeing you in St Brigid’s schoolyard after I heard you’d found the firefighter’s wedding ring in the ashes. What a blessing for his wife. Thank you for all your hard work and for being a great role model for young women, especially now when our rights and freedoms are under attack.

  16. Ellie Stafford November 7, 2024 at 3:05 pm - Reply

    Kudos to fFirefighter Kenneally Donovan was a job well done!

  17. Ellie Stafford November 7, 2024 at 3:16 pm - Reply

    Kudo’s to Firefighter Keaneally Donovan for a job well done!

  18. Carol Gillis November 10, 2024 at 8:25 am - Reply

    Congratulations to a true trailblazer
    Firefighters are an incredible team!

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