It’s been one year since the Canarsie firehouse lost a hero named Timothy Klein, but fellow firefighters will never forget the bravery and courage that caused him to lose his life while battling an intense house fire at 108-26 Avenue N on Sunday, April 24, 2022 (see “Canarsie Three Alarm Blaze Kills Two,” Canarsie Courier, April 28, 2022).
Family, friends and firefighters gathered to remember Firefighter Klein at a plaque dedication ceremony held on Monday, April 24th at Engine Company 257, Ladder 170, Battalion 58, at 1361 Rockaway Parkway. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh presided over the ceremony, and FDNY Chaplain Msgr. John Delendick, retired pastor of St. Jude Church, offered words of solace.
Klein, 31, joined the FDNY in December 2015 and was assigned to Canarsie’s Ladder 170. While fighting the three alarm blaze, he became trapped under a ceiling collapse and was removed from the inferno by fellow firefighters. He later succumbed to his injuries at Brookdale Hospital.
Affectionately known as the Canarsie Kid, Klein was remembered by his mother as “someone who was always doing the right thing whether it was helping with wheelchairs or just around the firehouse. He loved to help people.”
In January 2019, Klein delivered the eulogy for friend and fellow Firefighter Steven Pollard who died in the line of duty.
Ladder 170’s Vincent Geary said that Klein wanted to be there to help people. “During Steven Pollard’s tragic fall on the Belt Parkway, he performed CPR on him and stayed with him until the doctors asked him to leave.” He also said Klein was a professional who loved his firehouse.
Firefighter Timothy Klein was a resident of Belle Harbor, Queens and is survived by his mother, Diane; his father, Patrick, a retired FDNY firefighter; and his three sisters.
Photos by Lloyd Mitchell
