SAD SALUTE
Bravest honor fallen, including 2 killed on job
FOR FDNY heroes William Tolley and Yadira Arroyo, death came suddenly as they worked the jobs that defined their lives.
The pair were among a dozen honorees at the department’s 110th annual memorial ceremony on a day of reflection and remembrance for the department’s active duty members lost over the last 12 months.
All of those cited Wednesday brought the department’s particular brand of fortitude to work each and every day, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
“All of the members we honor today possessed that bravery,” Nigro told the large crowd assembled at the Firemen’s Memorial on Riverside Drive.
“They displayed it every day of their careers. We honor them all — not for the way that they died, but for the incredible way in which they lived.”
Dozens of American flags flanked the marble memorial, festooned with purple bunting and floral arrangements. Nigro was joined by Mayor de Blasio and other top FDNY brass for the service.
“This is one of the most solemn and humbling ceremonies each year in this city,” the mayor said. “And it causes us to reflect, first and foremost, on the lives of the good people we’ve lost and their service to us.”
Tolley, 42, the married dad of an 8-year-old girl, died in a fivestory fall while responding to a fire at a Queens apartment building in April.
“When we think about that devotion that is so strong in the FDNY, there is no greater example than firefighter William Tolley,” said the mayor. One month earlier, the 44-year-old Arroyo was run over and killed by a deranged man trying to steal her ambulance. The 14-year veteran EMT is survived by five sons.
Relatives of both Tolley and Arroyo accepted a posthumous FDNY Medal of Valor on their behalf. The two were the department’s only line-of-duty deaths over the past year.
The other honorees were active duty members who died in the last year, including firefighter Kevin Rooney, who suffered from a 9/11-related illness.
The 38-year-old Bronx native was diagnosed with cancer eight months before his January death.
Nigro told the crowd that an FDNY job came with a hard truth: Each year, when October rolls around, there will be colleagues to mourn.
The FDNY has lost 1,147 members on the job, and another 159 to 9/11-related illnesses.
“Sadly, those numbers will continue to grow because all of you face very real dangers in this job,” Nigro said.