The pews of St Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Belle Harbor were packed with thousands of uniformed firefighters paying their respects to Brady, 42, an 11-year veteran of the FDNY who suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 8 while battling flames on the roof of a burning six-story Brownsville apartment building.
Brady’s coffin was carried through his hometown of Belle Harbor to Saint Francis De Sales Roman Catholic Church on a fire truck in a procession that was led by the drumbeats of the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.
His widow, Kara Yankay, was in tears as she was escorted into the church by two uniformed firefighters, along with Brady’s parents and two brothers, Jimmy and Brian — both also members of the FDNY.
First Deputy Mayor Randy Maestro and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, were also in the crowd of thousands.
Brady’s Ladder 120 held a traditional bunting service Sunday, draping purple and black cloth on the outside of their building and remembering him for his love of the job.
“His love for this firehouse, for the members of this firehouse, only came second to the love for his wife Kara,” Brady’s colleague and close friend, Jake Touhey, said through tears after the bunting ceremony.
Firehouse brass lauded Brady.
“You could tell there was something different about Pat,” said FDNY Capt. Scott Coyne outside Engine 231/Ladder 120/Battalion 44 station house in Brownsville the day after Brady died.
“As a supervisor, he was one of the greatest,” said Coyne. “He did what you needed done before you even asked. He took care of those who were now younger than him. They knew it in the rank and file.”
“When you look back at your own life you’d always want to be a figure that is like a Pat Brady,” the captain concluded.
Flags were flown at half staff in Breezy Point, where Brady lived and where one mournful resident posted red ribbons to honor his memory.
“I’m putting them on all the trees here on the block,” Linda Lomanto, 51, told The Post Monday.
“I felt like just, y’know, on this block alone there’s his parents, his first cousin. It’ll be nice to let them know how we feel.”
“I’m putting them on all the trees here on the block,” Linda Lomanto, 51, told The Post Monday.
Brady is the 1,163rd member of the FDNY to die in the line of duty and the second this year.
FDNY paramedic and US Marine Corps veteran Salih Abdur Rahman, 46, died on Oct. 29 after finishing a shift at the FDNY Fire Academy on Randall’s Island, according to the department.
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