Young FDNY firefighter killed in Brooklyn inferno
Six-year veteran firefighter Timothy Klein, 31, died while trying to knock down the blaze at a Brooklyn home on Avenue N near E. 108th St. in Canarsie that erupted about 1:40 p.m.
Klein was cut down when the building ceiling collapsed; the critically injured firefighter was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn but could not be saved.
“The incident commander identified deteriorating conditions and ordered all members out of the building,” said acting FDNY commissioner Laura Kavanagh at a grim news conference at Brookdale.
”As they were doing so, there was a partial collapse of the ceiling. Four members were caught in that collapse. Three made it out and are stable in local hospitals at this time,” she reported.
An injured civilian was treated at the scene.
Five injured firefighters were being treated at local hospitals. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening Sunday evening, Mayor Adams said at the somber news conference.
There was no information on what sparked the deadly blaze.
In a heartbreaking moment of grief, about 100 FDNY members saluted as Klein’s body was transferred from the hospital to a waiting ambulance. Relatives of Klein stood by, sobbing and hugging in helpless sorrow.
“We pray for him and his family, for the city, a great loss,” Adams said.
“Timothy lost his life doing the job that we ask of him every day, and his fellow colleagues.”
