Legacy of fallen firefighter includes renovations for Seaford boy with cerebral palsy

One of fallen FDNY firefighter Timothy Klein’s last acts before he perished in a Brooklyn house fire Sunday was to help renovate a Seaford home for a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.

Klein, 31, devoted his life not only to the fire service, but to helping build accessible ramps, doorways and other structures for first responder families, free of charge.

The six-year FDNY veteran had spent the week after Easter raising the floor, plumbing and heating of the home of FDNY Lt. Jack Kirrane and his 12-year-old son Finley, who uses a wheelchair or a walker to get through the house. 

The Kirrane family came home from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to see the finished renovations Saturday, the day before Klein died when a ceiling collapsed on him while battling the fire.

“Timmy only wanted to give back. He never expected anything,” the foundation’s president John Vaeth said Wednesday as a group of firefighters gathered at the Kirrane family home to share stories of Klein and give the media a tour of the renovations. “Timmy was as special as it gets.”

Klein and the group of about 30 firefighters from the FDNY’s charity Fight for Firefighters Foundation had started the work at the Seaford home three years ago before Klein even knew the Kirrane family. After Kirrane worked with the group on the ramp leading to his deck and front door, he joined Klein's fire house in Canarsie with Ladder Company 170.

He said he wanted to join the Canarsie family — the same firehouse that suffered the loss of Firefighter Steven Pollard, 30, in Jan. 2019 when he fell through a gap on a bridge on the Belt Parkway. Klein gave the eulogy at his funeral.

The foundation has dedicated each of its projects to Pollard, and now to Klein. Kirrane said he has been looking at pictures of past jobs with Klein while mourning his friend and comrade.

“There’s no way to tell you how to process this right now,” Kirrane said. "It hurts us tremendously. It’s a really tough period right now. These guys are going through this for the second time.”

The renovations Klein helped to complete mean Finley can easily access the family’s living room den, which used to have a four-inch drop step from the kitchen. The foundation raised the floor and also widened the bathroom doors to accommodate Finley’s wheelchair or walker.

“Now he has the freedom to move around. The freedom he has is unbelievable,” Kirrane said. “These little things you need to do to your house cost a lot of money. Being disabled means paying a lot of money.”

Last year, Finley and his twin brother Jackson wanted to give back and hosted a lemonade stand outside their home on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The stand garnered $800 in donations for the foundation.

Finley said the new improvements help him move around his home.

“They were very helpful and supportive,” Finley said of the firefighters. “They help people. They’re selfless. They don’t want to help themselves.”

Klein also served on the foundation’s board and attended every one of the foundation’s 30 jobs in the past several years, spanning from Long Island to New Jersey. The foundation firefighters often don't personally know the first responders they help, Vaeth said. The foundation also does projects for the Ray Pfeifer Foundation for 9/11 first responders, among others.

No matter what Kirrane and his family needed, he said, Klein was always there.

“Being a fireman, nobody wants to ask for help. It's a humbling experience to ask for help. It's not you asking for help, it’s about asking for help for your son,” Kirrane said. “He would give you his shirt, build a ramp and give his life to the people of New York City, that’s who he was. He did what he loved to do. He loved helping people and loved being a firefighter.”

Firefighters described Klein as funny and hard working. He worked nine hours on the Kirrane house and then went to his firehouse for a 24-hour shift.

Firefighter Brian Pabon, 29, has spent his entire career working with Klein in Canarsie. He said Klein always pushed other firefighters to volunteer for projects like for Finley.

“He inspired me that day,” Pabon said. “You look up to people in the firehouse that have more time than you and more people looked up to him. I want to be more like him the rest of my life.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.