NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A veteran New York Fire Department lieutenant has died while battling a Staten Island home fire, his colleagues say.
Capt. Brian Gorman remembered Lt. Robert Ryan as a firefighter whose experience helped him make a definite contribution to the Engine 155 fire house, the New York Daily News said Monday.
"He will be sorely missed," Gorman said of the colleague he lost Sunday. "He was a fireman's fireman ... He did everything for this place."
Ryan, 46, lost his mask and air supply during the home fire when portions of the site's roof collapsed on him.
Without access to clean air, Ryan suffered smoke inhalation and had to be carried from the house by his fellow firefighters. Ryan was taken to a nearby hospital but medical workers were unable to save the 17-year fire department veteran.
The Daily News said the street portion where the house fire occurred is named John R. Fischer Way after a New York firefighter killed Sept. 11, 2001.
