On December 17, 1998 Lieutenant Joseph P. Cavalieri, Firefighters James F. Bohan and Christopher M. Bopp, all of Ladder 170 were at the Brookdale University Hospital delivering Christmas toys to sick children in the Pediatrics Department.

The very next day, December 18, 1998, the three were at the scene of a fire in a 10 story high-rise building in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. They were assigned the task of rescuing a civilian reported to be trapped in an apartment on the 10th floor, adjacent to the apartment on fire. A mayday was heard and a search immediatley began for the three. When they were found, all were unresponsive.

Lieutenant Cavalieri was taken to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Firefighters Bohan and Bopp were taken to Brookdale Hospital where the day after they were giving toys to the children, they were pronounced dead.

In September, 1999 Brookdale Hospital honored the memories of the three brave firefighters during a ceremony in which a plaque in their honor was dedicated.

The plaque, posted permanently in the hospital's Pediatric Department on the 8th floor, reads in part: "In recognition of the supreme sacrifice in aiding their fellow man and for the compassion and caring shown to the children on the Pediatric Unit."

The inscription also includes "Recipe for a Firefighter," a poem written in 1995. In the poem, the writer, Betty Lines, writes that the ingredients include: active play, humor, wisdom, endurance, strength, humility, courage, patientce, glaze of love. (with thanks to Ruth Richman / Brookdale University Hospital)

Now it's your turn. If you have a story that you'd like to submit, or have an idea for a story please let me know. Send it to: fdnytales@Fire-Police-EMS.com

Thanks, Ira Hoffman