WESTFIELD — They came from big cities and small towns from one side of the state to the other, from metro Boston and Worcester to the Hilltowns, Easthampton and Pittsfield.
They came to celebrate the life of a fallen comrade who died last week doing a job he’d done for years — fighting a house fire in his hometown of Montgomery.
And they came — more than 200 firefighters, plus friends and family — to mourn and be together as Montgomery Fire Chief Stephen P. Frye was laid to rest Monday. The 59-year-old died after collapsing while battling a chimney fire on Southampton Road on Dec. 5.
Huntington Fire Chief Gary Dahill, who knew Frye for many years, was with him on the fateful day.
“We were there when he went down and we immediately started working on him,” said Dahill, shaking his head.
Frye was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Easthampton Fire Chief David Mottor, who serves as president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, coordinated the firefighters’ participation at Monday’s funeral, held at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Westfield.
“We have departments here from the metro Boston area and Worcester, out to the Berkshires and the Hilltowns,” Pittsfield Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said. “This death hits the entire fire service and we have all come to support the family.”
Outside the front of the church along a crescent-shaped driveway, a long line of firefighters in dress blue uniforms stood two and three deep.
“Just about everyone in that line represents a different fire department,” said Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for state Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey.
On the opposite side of the drive stood a large group of new firefighters clad in turnout gear. New graduates of the Stow Firefighting Academy, the funeral was their first official day on the job.
“It’s a sobering reminder for them that this is a dangerous job,” Czerwinski said.
As the church bells began to toll, the Worcester Fire Brigade Pipes and Drums led the funeral procession down Holyoke Road to the church, with Montgomery Deputy Chief Chris Galipeau following behind, solemnly carrying his former chief’s helmet.
Frye’s body was transported in Montgomery fire truck 83 Rescue 1.
When the truck stopped in front of the church, the bagpipes began to play the tune “Going Home,” and hundreds of crisp white gloved hands snapped to salute as the body of the longtime chief left the vehicle for the last time and was carried into the church.
Frye had served with the Montgomery Volunteer Fire Department since 1993 and was chief for 13 years. He also worked for the local electrical workers union and was a longtime member of the Blandford Ski Area ski patrol.
Several members of the ski patrol attended the mass.
Frye’s son, Matthew Frye, also a member of the Montgomery Fire Department, was at the scene when his father collapsed. Stephen Frye is also survived by his wife, Laurie; daughter, Karlyn, and his mother, Marilyn, and sister, Laurel.
Cummington Fire Chief Bernie Forgea said that many other firefighters attended Frye’s wake on Sunday.
“It was a huge turnout of firefighters and state police,” Forgea said Sunday evening. “I didn’t know Steve well, but the fact that he was a fire chief that died in the line of duty was reason enough for me to go to the wake and pay my respects.”
Frye was buried following the Mass in Montgomery Cemetery in Montgomery.