FDNY Line of Duty Death
https://www.facebook.com/fireservic...eIfFJfDXXFXAaFh3B0gkudkml6pMw5w&__tn__=,O,P-RDecember 23, 1974 - LODD
Firefighter Daniel Perricone
Battalion 9
FDNY. Manhattan, New York
Firefighter Perricone died while attempting to make a rescue at a five-alarm fire while off duty.
FIREFIGHTER DANIEL PERRICONE BATTALION 9 December 23, 1974
FF Daniel Perricone, Battalion 9, a 12-year veteran, died while attempting to make a rescue at a 5-alarm fire while off-duty. Nearly 30 years after losing his life following the harrowing rescue of a man trapped inside a burning building, Firefighter Daniel Perricone will be recognized by the city with a Staten Island street named in his honor.
"His heroism parallels the heroism of rescue workers from 9/11," said City Councilman Michael McMahon.
On a chilly December night in 1974 Perricone was finishing his shift at Midtown's 9th Battalion when a five-alarm blaze erupted in an apartment building. With the house short on staff, the Port Richmond native volunteered to accompany his comrades to the site on East 86th Street. When they arrived much of the building was already engulfed in flames, but reports of a man trapped in his apartment moved Perricone to action. Climbing six flights of stairs, he took the man across his back and carried him out of the building.
Later Perricone would complain of chest pains. He was examined and released by doctors shortly before leaving for Stroudsburg, Pa., for the Christmas holiday. He died after suffering a heart attack on Christmas Eve in the family's vacation home. Family members say doctors believed his death was a result of smoke inhalation and the physical strain on his body from the rescue. Perricone was the seventh firefighter to die that year and the third to die of a heart attack.
"That was the kind of man he was," said his widow, Frances Perricone, from her Florida home this past weekend. Mrs. Perricone, who was left with three young children to raise alone and who never remarried, will attend the street renaming with friends and family at 3 p.m. Sunday. The renaming will take place at the corner of Lyon Place and Watchogue Road, Willowbrook.
Although Mrs. Perricone was upset with her husband for risking his life, and let him know it when he returned home that night, she said she was proud of the kind of man he was. "He was truly a hero," she added.
An estimated 2,000 firefighters turned out on Dec. 27 1974 to pay their respects to Perricone. He was buried with departmental honors accorded someone who has died in the line of duty. Mayor Abraham Beame and Fire Commissioner John T. O'Hagan were in attendance.
Holy Family R.C. Church, Westerleigh, overflowed with firefighters dressed in ceremonial blue who silently watched the flag-draped coffin loaded onto a fire truck for the trip to Moravian cemetery. On the way his body was driven past a pumper from Engine Co. 83, Westerleigh, where taps was played and firefighters honored their fallen comrade with a final salute. Perricone was described at the time by a fellow firefighter as "the best known and best liked fireman" in the 9th Battalion.
A lifelong Islander, Perricone joined the department in 1962 and served in Rescue Co. 1 as an aide to a battalion chief. He was originally assigned to Engine Co. 3 in Manhattan. He had received two departmental citations for rescues and received a third for his last rescue. Perricone also served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, seeing action in the infamous Chosin Reservoir battle. Five family members, including several grandchildren, have been named Daniel in Perricone's honor.
RIP. Never forget.