PROMOTED POSTHUMOUSLY

PROMOTED POSTHUMOUSLY

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James PROMOTED POSTHUMOUSLY: Anne Downing accepts two medals on behalf of her fallen husband, Firefighter John J. Downing, June 15 at a ceremony promoting him posthumously to Lieutenant. Firefighter Downing was nearing the top of the promotion list when he died in the 2001 'Father's Day Fire' in Queens that also took the lives of Firefighter Harry S. Ford and Firefighter Brian D. Fahey. The families of all three men were invited to a special mass at St. Sebastian's Church in Maspeth June 17 to mark the five-year anniversary of their deaths. As the families exited the church, the Fire Department unveiled a plaque on the side of a new Collapse Rescue Truck that read: 'In memory and honor of Lieut. John Downing, L-163, Firefighter Brian D. Fahey, Rescue 4, and Firefighter Harry S. Ford, Rescue 4, June 17, 2001.