Timothy Klein remembered for courage, compassion at wake attended by hundreds

Timothy Klein was remembered at his wake Thursday as a courageous FDNY firefighter, a mentor and reassuring anchor at his Brooklyn firehouse and a good-hearted human being who did charitable work on his days off. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined hundreds of FDNY personnel and throngs of civilians Thursday afternoon at the McManus Funeral Home in Brooklyn to pay their respects to Klein, an FDNY veteran for six years who died Sunday while fighting a house fire in Canarsie.  He was 31 years old. 

“Tim made an impression on everybody he worked with, junior men who he trained and senior men who he impressed,” said FDNY Lt. Robert Kittleberger, a Ladder 170 supervisor, after attending the first session of Klein’s wake at the McManus Funeral Home in Brooklyn. 

“He was a very big part of our firehouse. He was very dependable at a fire. This has been heartbreaking for us,” Kittleberger said.

Acting New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh and Acting Chief of Department John J. Hodgens joined Adams at the funeral home to memorialize the Belle Harbor firefighter who died while protecting the city he grew up in. 

“This is an incredibly heartbreaking day for us, for the department, for the family,” Kavanagh said.

Klein's father is a retired FDNY firefighter, and Kavanagh said other members of the family had also served in the department. “Certainly, they have been through this before, but I’m not sure you can ever prepare for it to be someone from your own family,” she said of the Klein family after attending the wake.

Klein’s family and friends arrived at the funeral home in several vans just before the wake began. One van was dedicated to “Black Sunday” – Jan. 23, 2005, when three firefighters died battling blazes in the Bronx and Brooklyn, the deadliest day in FDNY history since 9/11. Another van was dedicated to Assistant Chief Gerard A. Barbara, an incident commander who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. 

Some FDNY personnel wore a purple, black and white rectangular patch over their Ladder 170, Engine 257 or FDNY logo patches that say “FF Timothy P. Klein.” 

Inside, the chapel was decorated with hundreds of photos perched on easels: Klein as a child at Christmas, as a boy grinning from the back of a fire truck, as a young man playing hockey, at a Rangers game, at a Yankees game, at the beach, at a wedding as a groomsman. 

Klein’s body rested in an open casket, a set of green rosary beads in his hand. A cross, Rangers hat and Yankees hat were placed in the casket while his helmet was perched atop a pedestal. Mourners comforted his family, who stood and sat nearby, while some slid condolence cards into a nearby rack. 

Klein, on the team that operated the nozzle, was inside a burning house when he and three other firefighters were told by an incident commander to get out because of rapidly deteriorating conditions, the FDNY said Sunday. The three others were able to escape — jumping out of windows or climbing down ladders — but Klein couldn’t.

The fire also killed a resident of the house, which is in Brooklyn's Canarsie neighborhood. The body of Carlos Richards, 21, was found later that day. 

On Friday, a funeral Mass for Klein will be celebrated at his church, St. Francis de Sales, 129-16 Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Belle Harbor, Queens. Adams and Kavanagh, along with a member of Klein's firehouse, and two of his cousins — both FDNY firefighters — are set to speak at the funeral, Sweeney said. 

In 2019, Klein had delivered a eulogy for FDNY firefighter and firehouse comrade Steven Pollard, who fell to his death through a gap between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the Belt Parkway while responding to a car crash. A T-shirt bearing Pollard's name was also tucked next to Klein’s arm. 

“His absence leaves a real hole in our hearts and certainly his family’s,” Kavanagh said. 

Klein was the 1,157th FDNY firefighter to die in the line of duty, officials said. He is survived by his father, retired FDNY Firefighter Patrick Klein, his mother, Diane, and his three sisters, the FDNY said.

Klein’s mother will be among those delivering eulogies at the funeral Friday.