Despite the wind and cold November temperatures, hundreds stood outside of the Cathedral of Mary our Queen to say goodbye to 26 year-old Dillon Rinaldo.
Firefighters came from as far as Toronto and Boston. Dozens came from Fair Lawn, New Jersey — Rinaldo’s hometown — where he grew up alongside his father and was known as the “firehouse kid,” according to his obituary. Rinaldo grew up imitating the firefighters as a toddler and it was at Fair Lawn’s Company Four Engine that he served as a volunteer while he was still in high school.
“Integrity was the backbone of Dylan's leadership. He was fair and firm. He led by example. He would not ask anything of someone that he himself would not do,” said his fiancee Lauren Ridlon during his live streamed funeral mass on Friday morning.
But, she said, he was also someone who loved ice cream, playing golf, and watching Aerial America on his weekends off. She called him someone with “the heart of a lion.”
“Dillon did not dwell. He remembered,” she said. “He would ask us to do the same.”
Rinaldo fought for his life over the course of six days before he died in Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He is the second firefighter to be killed as a result from injuries sustained in a two-alarm October 19th fire where a block of rowhomes on the 5200 block of Linden Avenue in Northwest Baltimore went up in flames. Rodney Pitts III died that same night and was buried on October 27th. Officials have not released details regarding the cause of the fire. No civilians were seriously injured.
Rinaldo had six-years of service with the Baltimore City Fire Department when he died.
He was a lieutenant but posthumously promoted to captain for his “dedication, selflessness, and unwavering courage.” His rank, Mayor Brandon Scott noted, was exceptional for someone of his age.
“Leadership has never been about the grays on your head,” said Mayor Scott. “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more than you are an excellent leader. Captain Rinaldo was just that.”
Lt. Keith Brooks and firefighters Tavon Marshall and Seth Robbins were also injured during the Oct. 19 blaze — they have all been treated and released from the hospital.
The Linden Avenue fire is the second fire in the last two years to claim the lives of Baltimore City firefighters. In 2022, a fire on Stricker Street claimed the lives of three firefighters.
