BELLE, WV (WOWK) — Riverside High School hosted a funeral Saturday for Benny Filiaggi, a firefighter who worked for the Montgomery Fire Department since 1993.
The funeral was attended by hundreds of firefighters from across the Mountain State, with each station bringing their own fire engines to pay their respects.
Filiaggi was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in 2012, and was promoted to Fire Chief in 2020. He was known state-wide for his natural ability to connect with and train the next generation of first responders.
“Benny taught firefighter classes for many many years, and that was from introductory level up to advanced operations training. He even designed his own class for truck operations that he taught all over this state,” said Chief Deputy State Fire Marshall Robert Bailey. “He was specifically requested to teach that class on numerous occasions, even just as recent as just a few months ago. He was widely respected. He taught fire fighters all over this state, and many of those individuals have gone on to have careers in paid departments or other levels of emergency services.”
Bailey went on to say that Filiaggi was well known and loved throughout his tenure as a first responder by the city of Montgomery and surrounding communities.
“If you became his friend, you became family. Those were words spoken here today, and I think that’s true. He was just a great community minded individual. Service defined his life, service to others, service to his fellow man and service to his community,” Bailey said. “He was a regular at local high school games where he’d run the clock. He was a common face in this area of the Kanawha Valley.”
Following the funeral service, firefighters lined the street as Filiaggi’s casket was moved into a Montgomery Fire Department engine and taken to the Montgomery Memorial Park for a graveside service and burial.