Funeral Thursday for Firefighter Who Died While Fighting Peekskill Blaze

The funeral for veteran firefighter Kevin J. Bristol will be held at the Church of the Assumption, First Street, in Peekskill at 10 a.m. on Thursday. 

Bristol died of a heart attack March 3 after feeling ill following a kitchen fire in Peekskill. The lifelong Peekskill resident and Peekskill High School graduate was 48.

He is survived by his wife, his mother, three children and two grandchildren, whom "he cherished," his obituary said. 

Bristol served in the Peekskill Fire Department for 26 years with Ladder Company 45. 

His colleagues and friends referred to him as a "gentle giant" and by Wednesday night, many members of the Peekskill Fire Department Facebook group had changed their profile photos to a memorial for Bristol.