Warren J. Payne died heroically on August 29‚ 2007‚ from injuries sustained in a roof collapse while fighting a fire in a West Roxbury restaurant.

Born in 1954 in Boston‚ Payne grew up in Roxbury and Dorchester and spent time studying liberal arts at Bunker Hill Community College. He went on to work odd jobs in landscaping and security before becoming a certified emergency medical technician. He became a firefighter in 1988 and was assigned to Ladder 25‚ where he served for 19 years.

He was skilled and compassionate on medical calls‚ comforting patients by holding their hands and reassuring them. He was also a skilled observer on the fire scene‚ taking in details and memorizing building layouts to help ensure safety.

He is survived by his sons‚ Johnathan‚ 16‚ and Jeremy‚ 14; and his mother‚ Florence Payne. His family included his fellow firefighters‚ with whom he shared food‚ advice‚ support‚ and laughter.

He was just a down-to-earth‚ nice‚ friendly guy.