City officials said a firefighter was killed after a ceiling caught fire at a Brooklyn home Sunday afternoon and another person in the home was also killed.
The firefighter who died, Timothy Klein, 31, of Queens, had worked for the Fire Department for six years, Mayor Eric Adams said at a later news conference at Brookdale Hospital.
On Sunday night, investigators found another body inside the home but have not yet released its identity, a city official said. Authorities believe the victim was a 21-year-old autistic man who was reported missing by relatives after the fire, city officials said.
Klein died when the second floor of his two-story home in Canarsie was engulfed in flames, and the ceiling partially collapsed, fire officials said. He is the second New York City firefighter to die in the line of duty this year.
“It is with great pain and sadness that we have to announce that New York City has lost one of its bravest men, Timothy Klein,” said Mr. Adams. Dozens of police officers and firefighters in uniform were at the hospital waiting for Mr. Klein’s family.
Mr. Adams said the five firefighters’ injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The unidentified victim was found after a police dog trained to spot human remains indicated their presence amid the fire’s rubble, officials say said. After conducting a risk assessment with building and housing officials, firefighters went in and retrieved the body.
Fire investigators have not determined what caused the fire to spread to an adjacent house.
Fire Department officials said they were called to 108-26 N Avenue around 1:40 p.m. and found a private home with a top roof engulfed in flames. By 2:15, the fire was raised to the third alarm level, attracting more than 100 firefighters to fight the fire.
Klein’s father was a firefighter, and he had other relatives who worked for the Fire Department, Mr. Adams said. Mr. Adams said that Mr. Klein spoke at the funeral for Mr another firefighter, Steven H. Pollardin 2019.
Mr. Klein said he was with Mr. Pollard that night he died after falling from the overpass in Brooklyn 50 feet while responding to a two-car crash. These men belong to the same company, Ladder 170 in Canarsie.
At the funeral, Mr. Klein was emotional as he talked about Mr. Pollard’s sacrifice.
“Steven Pollard died not thinking about himself but trying to help others,” said Mr. Klein, his voice broken. “We lost a true hero that night.”
Klein graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in sports management from York College of Pennsylvania, according to his LinkedIn profile. After graduating from college, he worked briefly for the marketing department of the New York Rangers, as a youth basketball coach on Long Island and at a sports training center in Manhattan. , his profile said. He joined the Fire Department in December 2015.
On Sunday, Klein was on the second floor of the home with three other firefighters when the floor was engulfed in flames, fire officials said. Other firefighters managed to escape by jumping out of windows or climbing down stairs, but Mr. Klein was unable to get out. Other firefighters worked to reach him but were unable to reach him in time, fire officials said.
One firefighter, Jesse Gerhard, died in February, a day after responding to the Queens fire. He suffered a medical episode at his firehouse after helping to evacuate a three-story house engulfed in flames.
In January, New York City’s worst fire in three decades killed 17 people in the Bronx, including eight children. The fire was caused by a space heater and quickly engulfed the 19-story building.
Laura Kavanagh, the city’s fire commissioner, mourned Klein’s death during a news conference with the mayor.
“I cannot express the heartache felt by FDNY today at the loss of a member who was doing what our members do best – putting their lives to save others,” she said.
