FDNY Line of Duty Death
https://www.facebook.com/fireservicelineofdutydeaths/#December 31, 1952 - LODD
Firefighter Antonio J. Assante, 50
Engine Co. 306
FDNY, Queens, New York
Just past noon on December 31, 1952, while en route to a working fire in a stable, he fell from the rig as it rounded a corner at 221st St. and 39th Avenue. His head struck the icy pavement and he suffered a massive skull fracture. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died two hours later with his family at his side. The fire was determined to be arson, but no suspect was ever apprehended..... until June 8, 1995. On that day, Fire Marshals confronted a 57-year-old man who they had been tracking based on a story told to one of the marshals in March 1995 by twin 50-year-old brothers on a plane. It seems that they had witnessed the teenager who set the fire and knew a firefighter died because of it, but they never said anything about it. Upon questioning the suspect, he admitted to setting the fire, stating he drank heavily as a teen and hung with a bad group of kids. He went into the stable that day, stacked one bale of hay atop another, ignited both and walked away. He expressed his sorrow and grief over Assante's death. He signed a confession and was allowed to leave as there was nothing legally that the marshals could do because of statutes that were in place at the time of the crime.
RIP. Never forget.
