By Dustin Brown and Brendan Browne
A year later, Father’s Day is no longer the same holiday it once was.
On June 17, 2001, three Queens firefighters were killed when a blaze at an Astoria hardware store sparked an explosion that sent the building crashing down on them. It was Father’s Day, and all three men had children.
The pain of this year’s Father’s Day was blanketed by two ceremonies that honored the legacies of John Downing, Brian Fahey and Harry Ford, who together left eight children behind.
“Father’s Day is not an easy day because we lost three men we loved,” said Firefighter Jerry Brannigan at the firehouse of Ladder 163 on 51st Street in Woodside, where a plaque was unveiled Monday in memory of Downing, an 11-year veteran of the company.
The holiday that turned suddenly solemn has brought about a mixed bag of emotions because it is also a time to remember the three men for the way they lived and the way they would want to be remembered.
“He would want to make us laugh again,” Brannigan said of Downing, a father of two. “He would want to make Father’s Day a happy day.”
Firefighters and family members crowded the small firehouse and spilled onto the street beneath a white tent, while the front was lined with dignitaries from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta to U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) and City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Woodside). The event was held a year to the day following the fatal fire and one day after Father’s Day.
A similar scene played out Friday at the firehouse of Rescue 4 on Queens Boulevard in Woodside, where Bloomberg unveiled two plaques in honor of Fahey and Ford, members of a company known for facing the fiercest fires.
Fahey and Ford “spent their lives protecting the lives of others and courageously served their fellow New Yorkers,” Bloomberg said. “We can honor their service and valor by never forgetting their efforts and the work of their brothers and sisters in the FDNY.”
The two plaques were hung on either side of a painting of Fahey, Ford and Downing, under which a marble monument was laid with the inscription, “In memory of our fallen firefighters, soldiers in a war that never ends.”
“Although a raging fire took their lives… it did not take their spirit or the strength of their example,” said Scoppetta, who spoke at the ceremony. “The plaque will serve as a fitting tribute to these brave men and offer inspiration to those who will come after them.”
After the ceremony, the mayor, firefighters, and the Fahey and Ford families mingled, remembering the fallen firefighters.
“Harry (Ford) was a great fireman, who loved his sports and family. He always made sure men were taken care of. Brian (Fahey) was another great character. He loved his Irish heritage and his sons,” said the firehouse’s captain, Paul Heglind. “When you walk in the firehouse and you see these plaques, it means a lot.”
The firefighters’ wives, Mary Fahey and Denise Ford, expressed thanks to the Fire Department for the ceremony. “I’m so proud of my husband and we’re very grateful to be a part of this family, proud to be part of the Fire Department family,” said Fahey.
After Downing’s ceremony, his 4-year-old son Michael tooled away in the front seat of the fire truck for Ladder 163, a shiny new rig with a plaque that says it was given to the city from the people of Akron, Ohio “in honor of the victims on Sept. 11, 2001.”
Although his small frame was dwarfed by the enormity of the vehicle, he looked oddly content at the helm of the fire truck, rolling around the cavernous front seat.
It brought to mind an observation made by Monsignor D. Joseph Finnerty at a memorial mass held in Downing’s honor a few hours earlier at St. Sebastian’s Roman Catholic Church.
“Where’s the little rascal?” Finnerty asked Downing’s wife Anne from the dais as he sought out Michael. “Was his father like him? Full of that energy? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
