Hundreds of firefighters paid their respects Saturday to fellow firefighter Jeff Barbieto, who was off duty when he drowned on May 24.

In their official uniforms, about 150 Honolulu firefighters and paramedics, along with about 50 federal firefighters, lined up outside St. John Vianney Church in Kailua. After a recital of the firefighter’s prayer, the first responders filed into the church and walked past Barbieto’s cap and badge on display before hundreds of Barbieto’s family members and friends.

Barbieto died while working as a commercial diver, maintaining underwater moi cages off Ewa Beach for Hukilau Foods. He was a Honolulu firefighter for 21 years and assigned to Rescue 2 company in Mililani. He also started a water rescue company called Ku‘au Rescue.

At the service, firefighters recalled the qualities that made Barbieto stand out.

Terry Watanabe graduated in the 69th recruit class with Barbieto in 1990 and, as a helicopter pilot, participated in scores of rescues with him.

"He was always kolohe," he said. "He was always the one that kept the crew funny, laughing. We’re going to miss him."

After a rescue, he recalled, Barbieto would sometimes get the hikers to sing a song for the rescue crew. The hikers would sing whatever they knew; some sang their high school alma mater, others sang rhymes they could barely remember. While flying back to quarters, Watanabe could hear their singing over the radio.

Afterward, Barbieto would remind the hikers to carry cellphones and flashlights and be prepared before going on a trail.

When it came to his job, Barbieto was an "excellent water guy" and a professional who hashed out rescue plans with Watanabe so the pilot didn’t have to make risky flight maneuvers, Watanabe said.

"He’d look after me," he said. "(His death) left a big hole in everybody’s heart."

Fire Capt. Frank Supranovich of Station 11 at Sunset Beach worked in the same rescue company with Barbieto several years ago. He said Barbieto would help anybody with events and also organized annual trips to the neighbor islands for fellow firefighters to relax.

"He had a lot of aloha," he said. "He brought people together."

Supranovich said Barbieto also previously served as lifeguard supervisor at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.

Barbieto’s oldest son, Nalu, 18, said his father was modest about his job as a rescue specialist but loved it and knew it was dangerous.

"He woke up every day knowing that he risked his life," he said, adding that his father also enjoyed his job at the moi fish farm.

"That was his passion, anything to do with the ocean," he said. "He died doing what he loves."

Barbieto, a 1987 graduate of Saint Louis School, is survived by his wife, Myesha Barbieto, and three children.

The couple talked about the danger of Barbieto’s two jobs often, Myesha Barbieto said.

"He’s a beautiful man," she added. "He had heart."