Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Associated Press March 27, 2018
Credit: Antontio De Loera-Burst

A New York City firefighter killed while battling a blaze on a movie set was hailed as a hero at his funeral on March 27 in the majestic St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, noting that Catholics are observing Holy Week, said that Fire Department of New York Lt. Michael Davidson gave his life for others, as Jesus did.

The blood of Davidson—who hailed from a family of firefighters—contained “the DNA of the FDNY,” Dolan said, and his name “radiates goodness, valor and virtue as sparkling as the badge he wears.”



Davidson was overcome by smoke early Friday at a Harlem building where a movie starring Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin was being filmed.

Throngs of white-gloved firefighters in dress uniform stood at attention along Fifth Avenue as Davidson’s casket arrived at the cathedral on a firetruck adorned with his name and black-and-purple bunting. Traffic came to a standstill along the route; American flags were draped overhead.

FDNY Flag
FDNY Flag displayed at the funeral for the fallen firefighter 

Davidson leaves behind a wife and four young children who will always be part of the FDNY family, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, who fought back tears.

“Your children,” Nigro told Eileen Davidson, “will grow up knowing their father was a true hero.”

It has been a tough week for the New York firefighting community. In addition to the loss of Lt. Davidson, firefighters Thomas Phelan and Keith Young were also laid to rest this week.

They had died just a day apart from cancers associated with their service during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack at New York’s World Trade Center in 2001. According to records maintained by the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York union, theirs were the 172nd and 173rd deaths of firefighters to have occurred because of 9/11-related illnesses, and the sixth and seventh so far this year.

From AP and staff reporting.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Richard Bell
7 years 3 months ago

"Cardinal Timothy Dolan, noting that Catholics are observing Holy Week, said that Fire Department of New York Lt. Michael Davidson gave his life for others, as Jesus did.
"The blood of Davidson—who hailed from a family of firefighters—contained 'the DNA of the FDNY,' Dolan said, and his name 'radiates goodness, valor and virtue as sparkling as the badge he wears.'"
Yes, Cardinal Dolan, Lt. Davidson gave his life heroically. But is that as Jesus gave his life for others?

The latest from america

A Reflection for the Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless
Ashley McKinlessJuly 08, 2025
No one ever expected a U.S.-born pope. In this first-ever I “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series, those who know him best reveal who Pope Leo XIV—“the American pope”—really is. In Episode 1, we hear from the genealogist who uncovered his Louisiana roots, a teacher, and fellow Augustinian friars
Inside the VaticanJuly 08, 2025
The Vatican Synod office has released a set of guidelines for local churches and bishops to implement the proposals of the recent Synod on Synodality.
When Miami native Tom Llamas was named “NBC Nightly News” anchor following the retirement of Lester Holt, one of the first phone calls he placed was to the rector/president of his Jesuit high school alma mater.