FIRE LT. JAMES A. PAGANO

PAGANO FAMILY PHOTO

CRANSTON –– There was a home-cooked meal in the works at Fire Station Three yesterday afternoon.

And the dispatcher’s voice crackled over the intercom from time to time.

But it was not a typical day for the men of the third platoon.

Lt. James A. Pagano, who had worked at the station for about 15 years before a recent promotion and transfer, was gone –– killed Sunday afternoon in an apparent shooting by a neighbor the police have identified as Nicholas Gianquitti, a former Providence police officer who is now charged with murder.

And for the men who knew Pagano so well –– who knew his easy manner and easier laugh –– there was something incomprehensible, even impossible about his violent end.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” said Firefighter Ray Giguere.

That same sense of disbelief hung over a sprawling network of family and friends who struggled to come to terms with Pagano’s death yesterday.

Pagano, a father of two young children, was a man who inspired laughter and loyalty, not anger, say those who knew him. He was a man who overcame a serious childhood illness –– and the special agony of a devoted Red Sox fan –– to emerge as the sort of amiable, well-liked family man who defines a community.

Pagano, 44, was one of three children born to Anthony and Rosealba Pagano.

His extended family is a Cranston institution –– a tight-knit bunch known for its athletic prowess and good cheer.

His uncle, John Pagano, 75, said the death of James, known as Jim, has hit the clan hard.

“Something like this comes along … it’s unbelievable,” he said.

But the killing has also come as a blow to Pagano’s second family –– a group of about 30 men who refer to themselves as the Garden City Boys, after their childhood neighborhood.

As kids, the boys would play sports into the night, make home movies and project them on the Paganos’ garage, friends said.

They formed a bond that would last into adulthood.

“Jim was the most stand-up, reliable friend you could ever know,” said Paul Kopech, 42, who grew up with Pagano. “He was like money in the bank.”

Pagano had his struggles as a teenager –– battling Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare nervous system disorder that left him hospitalized and his body atrophied for months, according to Kopech.

But he recovered, made his way through Cranston High School West and graduated from Providence College in 1989.

For a few years, he served as an aide to former Cranston Mayor Michael A. Traficante, an old family friend.

He became a firefighter in February 1991. He was promoted to lieutenant four months ago, participating in a department-wide promotions ceremony just last week.

The guys at Fire Station Three say Pagano was a family man, above all.

They say he was always racing around to his son’s and daughter’s sporting events, with his wife Adriana.

They say they were not surprised to learn he was hosting a birthday party for his son, Louie, the day he was killed.

Pagano was a presence at the fire house, too. He cooked a mean dish of veal and mushrooms, the firefighters said, talked about his golf game and shouted at the television when his beloved Red Sox blew a late-inning lead.

“He was animated,” said Lt. Frank Ennis, with a smile.

And now, he’s gone.

dscharfe@projo.com