Justice for Brady: Fallen Malverne firefighter to be honored on state memorial wall

It took five appeals, a rally, a lawsuit and, finally, legislation, but at long last fallen Malverne firefighter Paul Brady’s name will be inscribed on a memorial wall in Albany.

The announcement came shortly after the state Legislature passed a bill requiring that the names of all firefighters who died in the line of duty be included on the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

Two state legislators crossed party lines to co-author the bill, which they deemed necessary as a result of the actions of the memorial committee that had previously determined whether a firefighter’s name would be added to the wall. Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) were outraged that the committee repeatedly denied requests for Brady’s name to be added to the memorial wall, citing established criteria as their reason. To be considered for the wall, a firefighter’s death must meet the definition of a line-of-duty death, and the committee decided that Brady’s did not.

Brady, 42, was accidentally crushed to death in the Malverne firehouse in July 2006 while doing routine maintenance on the roof of a rescue truck. Unaware that Brady was on top of the truck, a fellow volunteer firefighter drove it out of the building, trapping Brady in a 5-inch clearance between the truck and a ceiling beam. He suffered internal injuries and died later that day at Nassau University Medical Center.

“While there is no way to repay the families of firefighters who make the ultimate sacrifice, the state memorial is a small way for New York to recognize their service,” Weisenberg said. “Paul Brady’s family, especially his children, deserve to see his name next to those of other fallen heroes from our state.”