Firefighter Killed in NYC Blaze

NEW YORK (AP)  --  The commissioner of the Fire Department of New York is among those paying their final respects to a firefighter who died over the weekend.


Glenn Schuck Reports

Lt. Robert J. Ryan Jr. died Sunday after stretching a hose to a Staten Island home's burning attic. A ceiling collapsed, throwing him to the ground and knocking off his helmet and oxygen mask.

Ryan was a married father of two children and two stepchildren. Viewings for Ryan are being held Monday and Tuesday. His funeral is Wednesday.
   
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Ryan was ``a brave man who lost his life protecting the city.''

It was unclear whether Ryan, 46, was in the attic or was below it when the ceiling fell, firefighters said.

One resident in the home at the time escaped unhurt, the fire department said.

The electrical fire, in the New Brighton neighborhood, was reported about 12:30 a.m. and was brought under control an hour later.

Ryan's engine company was the first to arrive to tackle the flames, which appeared to have been caused by faulty wiring, firefighters said.

Ryan, a 17-year veteran of the fire department, was promoted to lieutenant in March 2001. After Sept. 11, 2001, he was assigned to an engine company that had lost all its members in the World Trade Center attack, which killed 343 firefighters.

He was burned in a fire a few years ago and spent more than a year recuperating before returning to work.

Bloomberg, in a somber hospital news conference Sunday morning, asked city residents to pray for Ryan, who was married with two children and two stepchildren.

A few days ago, a funeral was held for a Fire Department of New York trainee, Jamel Sears, who died after an exercise at the fire academy. Sears, 33, collapsed following an 18-minute training session performed while wearing about 100 pounds of gear.