‘A true American hero;’ 30 years after his death, firefighter Stephen Minehan is honored in Dorchester

Lieutenant Stephen F. Minehan Square was dedicated in the honor of the fallen firefighter, who died in 1994 while searching for fellow firefighters trapped in a warehouse blaze. Each of his four children and widow, Kathy, received their own sign.Ava Berger/Boston Globe

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at the corner of Milton and Hallet streets in Dorchester on Friday, and the new red street sign honoring the late Boston fire Lieutenant Stephen F. Minehan sparkled in the sun.

More than 100 people gathered behind Florian Hall, home of Boston Firefighters Local 718, at noon to watch the dedication and naming of Lieutenant Stephen F. Minehan Square.

Minehan died 30 years ago after courageously working to save his fellow firefighters during a nine-alarm fire at a warehouse on the Charlestown pier.

“We’ll never forget Lieutenant Steve Minehan ... a true American hero,” former Boston fire commissioner Martin E. Pierce Jr. said to the crowd.

Minehan, a third-generation Boston firefighter, died in the line of duty on June 24, 1994. He was 44 and left his wife, Kathy, and four children, including a son, Joseph, now a district chief in the department.

The crowd filled the parking lot of Florian Hall and, some stood watching from the porches of nearby homes. Everyone knew one another and everyone had a story about Minehan.

“I see some uniforms, I see some Hawaiian shirts, I see everything in between,” said Sam Dillon, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718. “Joe, this is a very Minehan event and it means a lot.”

Kathy Minehan attended with her four grown children, Joseph, Kaitlin, Kelley, and Meghan, and eight grandchildren.

“Today’s marking and naming and memorializing helps us to reconnect with him,” said the Rev. John Unni, the department’s chief chaplain. “It helps us to remember and be reminded of what happened. The dangers of this job, the heroism and selflessness and bravery of your husband, father, brother, friend. He truly was a human being for others.”

Lieutenant Stephen F. Minehan Square was dedicated on Friday. Ava Berger/Boston Globe

Joseph Minehan told the crowd that the 30th anniversary of his father’s death was “particularly tough.”

“I realized he’s been gone twice as long as I knew him,” said Minehan, 45. “In that time, I can’t count the number of missed milestones — birthdays, weddings, first words, first steps, countless holidays and celebrations.”

Minehan, however, still found a way to make the crowd smile, as he mentioned his father even missed “one visit to a medium.”

“It’s just as weird as it sounds,” he said, to the laughing crowd.

A fourth-generation member of the Boston Fire Department, Joseph Minehan was promoted to district chief in 2021.

“Every one of his children has gone on to a field that serves others first,” Minehan said. “He would be proud of that.”

“He’d be proud of his grandkids,” he continued, choking up. “Each carries their own brand of goofiness and dry humor as a badge of honor.”

Mayor Michelle Wu presented Kathy Minehan a certificate “for her extraordinary strength, compassion, and dedication to both her family and thousands of grieving widows over the past 30 years.”

Since her husband’s death, Kathy Minehan has been a leader of WINGS, which stands for Widows in Need of Grief Support.

“After her husband gave the ultimate sacrifice, Kathy has been a pillar of resilience and hope, raising four children while selflessly volunteering,” Wu said.

As she accepted the certificate, Kathy Minehan wiped tears from her eyes, and everyone in the crowd rose to their feet.

After the ceremony, she said she was not expecting the honor for herself and “overwhelmed” by the tribute to her late husband.

“I know what he meant to me and I know what he meant to our children, and I know what he would have meant to our grandchildren,” she said. “But to see the outpouring still, after all these years, is pretty overwhelming, but amazing at the same time.”