Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas
Scoppetta regretfully announced the death of Lieutenant John
H. Martinson of Engine Company 249 in Brooklyn.
Lt. Martinson, 40, sustained critical injuries while
battling a two-alarm fire at 1700 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn
on January 3.
He was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he was
pronounced dead.
As firefighters hung ceremonial purple and black bunting on
the façade of Engine 249/Ladder 113 honoring Lt. Martinson
on January 4, they remembered him as quiet, calm and
level-headed.
“When he had something to say, you listened,” said Captain
Thomas Reilly of Engine 249. “He led by example. This is a
tremendous loss.”
Lt. Martinson was appointed to the FDNY on May 9, 1993.
He previously served at Engine 204, Engine 80 and Ladder 23.
While serving at Engine 80, he received a unit citation in
1996.
He was promoted to lieutenant in December 2002 and assigned
to Engine 249 in March 2006.
A resident of Staten Island, Lt. Martinson is survived by
his wife, Jessica, and 1-year-old son, John Patrick.
Lt. Martinson is the 1,138th member of the New York City
Fire Department to make the Supreme Sacrifice in the
Department's 144-year history.
Fire at 1700 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn
Firefighters responded to a call for a fire in a 14th floor
apartment at 1700 Bedford Avenue at 7:14 p.m., a 25-story
multiple dwelling known as the Ebbets Field Houses.
Engine 249 was the first due to the fire.
A second alarm was transmitted at 7:35 p.m. and it was
deemed under control at 8:33 p.m. Two other firefighters
were transported to Kings County Hospital with smoke
inhalation and two were transported to Weill Cornell Medical
Center with burns.
Fire marshals determined the cause to be a child playing
with fire.
Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon (FDNY) (718) 999-2056
http://www.nyc.gov/fdny
