BIOGRAPHY

Born on 1906 in Portland, Maine.

On April 21, 1936, Thomas was appointed to the Portland Fire Department and assigned Badge #78.  He was first assigned to Central Fire Station at 380 Congress Street, and then was transferred to Engine 8 on Deering Avenue at Woodfords Corner, also the quarters of District 2.

On February 24th, 1945, at 2:10 AM, a wind-swept fire was discovered in the Stevens Avenue Armory.  Three alarms were quickly struck as intense heat could be felt a block away.  Fire brands were also endangering a number of nearby dwellings.  As Engine 8’s crew was attacking the fire on the building’s right-side, a sudden explosion on the second-floor blew out a section of wall, showering the three firefighters with fire brands and fiery bricks.  Two of the injured firemen were quickly removed and taken to the hospital, but the third member was buried beneath the bricks.

Private Walsh, age 39, was killed instantly in the wall collapse.  He was survived by his mother, his pregnant wife Ethel and daughters Jane and Mary Lou.  His third daughter, Thomasina, would be born a short time after he died.

Private Walsh was buried in Calvary Cemetery in South Portland, in section O-335, Sacred Heart Road on the end (no stone), behind the Helm stone.