Loved ones mourning the death of a man in a Massachusetts house fire said goodbye to him Sunday at a New Year's Eve celebration.
Those who knew 85-year-old John Sullivan of Braintree made sure the night at the Cottage Bar in Weymouth would be just how he would want it.
Those who were packed into the bar Sunday night didn't expect to ring in the new year like this.
"It's like an Irish wake for him here," said friend Curtis Akins.
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Akins said he was devastated when he learned Sullivan had died.
"I almost fell off my stool," he said. "I couldn't fathom it."
A passerby reported the fire at Akins' home on Hobart Avenue about 4 a.m. Saturday. Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Neighbors who spoke to NBC10 Boston Saturday said he was a great guy and will be missed dearly.
"We just love him on the street here, the town's going to miss him," one man said. "If you ask around, they all know him."
"He was truly a great, great guy. And his wife is a wonderful person," another man said. "Really big loss for the whole neighborhood."
Braintree's fire chief expressed his condolences to the victim's families and loved ones.
The fire spread rapidly and caused major damage to the home, with the second floor completely destroyed. It took firefighters almost an hour to bring the blaze under control.
