The Staten Island Advance reports that "more than 5,000 firefighters lined" the street before the funeral for FDNY Lieutenant Robert Ryan. Ryan, who suffered serious burns while battling a 2006 fire but still returned to work, died on Sunday at age 46 while responding to a house fire on Staten Island. His wife Kathleen told the firefighters in attendance, "As much as you loved him, he loved you. The job was his life, and you guys were the reason he was a rich man." Mayor Bloomberg, who also spoke, referred to Thanksgiving, "There is something to give thanks for and that is we were lucky enough to have Bobby Ryan on this earth protecting our City, even if the time that he had here was much too short." more ›

The bravery and dedication of Fire Lieutenant Robert Ryan are remembered as his funeral arrangements are set for this week. Ryan, a 17-year FDNY vet who worked in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island, died in a Staten Island fire yesterday morning. more ›

A seventeen-year FDNY veteran died while battling a blaze on Staten Island early this morning. At around 12:30 a.m., Lieutenant Robert Ryan was leading the first unit to respond to a fire in a two-story home on Van Buren Street in New Brighton when his mask and air supply were knocked off by pieces of the ceiling that began coming down as it collapsed. The fire was not deemed suspicious and appears to have been the result of faulty wiring in the house's attic. more ›