Firefighter who died during training exercise is praised at funeral
Lt. Benny Hutchins served in the Philadelphia Fire Department for 34 years. He was 62.
Philadelphia firefighters, police officers, city officials, and family members gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the life of Lt. Benny Hutchins, a 34-year veteran of the Fire Department who died last month during a training exercise.
Hutchins, 62, who served in the Marine Corps, joined the department in 1984 and became a lieutenant in 2003. He was praised as a devoted, lifelong public servant who since January had been assigned to Ladder 30 in Roxborough.
During the service at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in North Philadelphia, Mayor Kenney and Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel spoke of Hutchins' dedication to serving the city and keeping its citizens safe.
"It is with a deep sadness that I join you here today, [with] sadness for the family's loss, but also with a joy that Benny is with God in heaven, never to be harmed or hurt, feel pain again," Kenney said. "He has reaped his reward that he has worked so hard for during his life."
"It's clear that Lt. Hutchins has a big, warm, and loving family," Kenney added.
Hutchins is survived by his mother, four sisters, five brothers, 30 nieces and nephews, and 47 great-nieces and nephews. His family, dressed in white, swayed to the music and held onto each other during the service. In the rows next to them sat nearly 50 firefighters, 10 of whom were pallbearers.
Sepia-tone photographs of Hutchins as a child flashed across two screens in the church throughout the service. He graduated from University City High School before serving four years in the military. Outside of work, he was in a band with his neighborhood friends. He played the saxophone, guitar, and drums, his obituary said.
Hutchins responded to thousands of fires and medical emergencies during his time with the department, "along the way touching countless lives across our city… at the same time always exhibiting that spirit of brotherly love and sisterly affection on which this great city is founded," Thiel said.
After the service, bagpipes played as dozens of uniformed officers lined Lehigh Avenue, and Hutchins' casket was carried from the church and hoisted onto a fire truck for his final ride. He was buried at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Newtown, Bucks County.