The community came together on Thursday to say goodbye to a local fire chief who lost his battle with cancer.

Brunswick Assistant Fire Chief David Plew died on Saturday. A funeral Mass was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Troy.

Plew’s son Matt said his doctors attributed his stage four kidney cancer to fighting fires for more than three decades.

Matt has been pushing for government funded cancer screenings for volunteer firefighters.

Brunswick Fire Chief Steve Willson said David Plew was very active with the department.

“From day one, he was gung ho. He worked his way up through the ranks. He’s always done an outstanding job,” said Brunswick Fire Chief Steve Willson.

Brunswick Fire Capt. John Mainello said the department left Plew in his position right up until the very end.

“Even if he wasn’t able to get out of bed, he would have went to calls if he could have because that’s just the type of guy he was,” he said.

Dave Plew was 56 years old.