Brooklyn Plaque Dedicated One Year After Fireman’s Death

CROWN HEIGHTS [NY1] — A plaque was dedicated Saturday to a Brooklyn firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty last year.

Family and friends of Lieutenant John Martinson joined Mayor Bloomberg, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and other members of the FDNY in Engine 249 Ladder 113 in Crown Heights.


The 40-year-old firefighter, who was called “Johnny Nice Guy,” died on January 3, 2008, while battling a fire at the Ebbets Field Apartments in Crown Heights.

Investigators say a six-year-old boy started the fire in the 25-story complex by placing a piece of wrapping paper over a lit stove, and when it caught fire, he stuck it under a bed to avoid getting in trouble.

Mourners remembered how Martinson, a 14-year veteran, stayed behind to make sure his colleagues got out safely.

“We lost a good man – a man of strength and character, a man of duty,” said Bloomberg. “Lt. Martinson never gave a second thought, according to everybody I ever talked to about him, of putting himself in harm’s way to protect the rest of us.”

Since Martinson’s death, the Fire Department has increased training in how to fight a fire in a high rise building.

“We will continue doing everything possible to ensure our firefighters have the best equipment and the best training so that they can return home safely to their families at the end of the day,” said Bloomberg.

“There was a certain sense of safety when he was around,” said Jessica Martinson, the fireman’s widow. “He could fix any situation and anything and he was so much more than just my husband, he was my best friend.”

“If I had to do it all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t change a thing,” she continued. “I experienced a love with John that everyone should have the chance to experience. He adored me and I adored him.”

Martinson’s young children, three-year-old son John Patrick and seven-month-old daughter Catherine Grace, were also present at the ceremony.

Just before he died, Martinson had almost completed rebuilding his grandfather’s home to house his family. The other members of his fire engine finished the job in time for Jessica Martinson to host her first Thanksgiving dinner.