Fallen firefighter’s grieving family watch as Bravest pay tribute to ‘the Canarsie Kid’
The stricken family of Brooklyn Bravest Timothy Klein went to his fire company Monday to honor the fallen smoke-eater known as “the Canarsie Kid’’ and “the Golden Child’’ — as new details emerged in his death.
Klein’s parents and sisters looked on in grief as black and purple bunting was hung outside Ladder Co. 170 next to a flag flying at half-staff — both symbols that the station house lost a comrade.
The 31-year-old Klein, a six-year department veteran, grew up dreaming of following his father and uncles into the ranks of the city’s Bravest, a cousin said.
The hero finally got his wish with an assignment to Ladder Co. 170, where comrades gave him the affectionate nicknames, the relative said.
“He just didn’t make it home yesterday,” said Timothy’s firefighter cousin, Keith Klein — the day after “Timmy” was killed when the second floor of a Canarsie home suddenly collapsed in on him as he helped battle an inferno.
“Timmy understood the risks, we all do growing up in a firefighter family,” his cousin said, speaking on behalf of the family at the heart-wrenching traditional mourning ritual.
“We didn’t lose him to a lack of training or preparedness or fitness. Timmy was top-notch,” Keith said. “Sometimes you lose members to the circumstances of the operation.”
On hand for Monday’s ceremony outside the firehouse were Timothy’s grieving parents, including his retired Bravest dad Patrick, his three younger sisters and dozens of uniformed firefighters who served with him.
Before the ceremony, the ladder truck that Timothy Klein rode in to the fatal fire was used to lower the firehouse flag to half-staff.
In 2019, Timothy gave a touching eulogy for fallen firehouse comrade Steven Pollard, who was killed while responding to a car accident on the Belt Parkway.
“We lost a true hero that night,” Timothy said at the time. “You will never be forgotten.”
Klein was on the second floor of the house at 10826 Avenue N shortly after 1:30 p.m. when the flames erupted and engulfed the home, fire officials said.
Sources said Monday that Klein was with two other firefighters who were able to escape when the floor gave in.
Klein was still alive when other smoke-eaters reached him, although he was covered in debris with his oxygen mask off, the sources said.
He was pulled out of the rubble and rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. A 21-year-old resident of the home perished in the blaze, too.
Other firefighters at the scene “worked feverishly, very hard under very difficult conditions” to get to Klein but were beaten back by the flames, FDNY Acting Chief of Department John Hodgens said during a press briefing outside the hospital Sunday.
Three firefighters barely escaped death by jumping out of the windows or getting to ladders outside the house, Hodgens said.
Timothy Klein grew up in Breezy Point, Queens, and lived in Rockaway, sources said.
He was a 2008 graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, with his three younger sisters later graduating as well, the school said on Facebook on Monday.
His cousin Keith said of Timothy, “He had a positive impact with every person that he met.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who had a bad thing to say about Timmy.
“Timmy leaves behind his parents, who adored him,” he said. “Three younger sisters who idolized him. A beautiful girlfriend who’s devastated, understandably. Countless aunts, cousins and childhood friends. It’s quite a loss, inside and outside of the firehouse.”
Timothy Klein was the 1,157th FDNY firefighter to die in the line of duty, the department said in an Instagram post. He was the fifth from his firehouse killed while doing his job.
“This is tough,” FDNY Capt. Mark Schweighardt said outside the firehouse Monday. “We’re all heartbroken. Timmy was a big part of the house. This is family.”
Timothy is survived by his father Patrick, mother Diane and his sisters, Tara Kirby, Bridget Klein and Erin Klein, according to officials and the school.
The elder Klein was caught in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 but managed to escape despite being “busted up,” said retired FDNY Capt. James Rallis, who served with Pat Klein, in a Facebook post Monday.
“I cannot fathom Pat’s pain right now, this is a father’s worst nightmare,” Rallis wrote. “Losing a son is tough enough but one that follows your footsteps, unimaginable!!
“Pat, be proud that Timothy loved the FDNY doing what he did the same way you did.”
Timothy Klein was the first Big Apple firefighter to die in the line of duty since February, when Jesse Gerhard collapsed and died at his Queens firehouse after battling a blaze.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona
