Fallen firefighter Paul Brady denied addition to memorial wall

    Malverne will never forget Paul Brady. Residents don’t need the volunteer firefighter’s name engraved on a wall to remember how dedicated he was to his family and friends, to the Fire Department and to serving the village. But community members believe that having his name added to the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial wall in Albany is Brady’s due.
    On April 19, for the fourth time since he was accidentally crushed to death in a Malverne firehouse in 2006, Brady was denied that honor: The memorial’s selection committee rejected a proposal to add Brady’s name to the wall.
    The five committee members who voted against the proposal, all of whom represent paid firefighters, cited established criteria as their reason for rejecting Brady. To be considered for the wall, a firefighter must meet the definition of a line-of-duty death. The committee found that Brady had not died in the line of duty, even though the state Worker’s Compensation Board, the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation each determined that he had.
    To the four committee members who voted in Brady’s favor, all representing volunteer firefighters, this discrepancy was evidence of their paid colleagues’ bias against volunteers.
    A spokesman for the New York Department of State, speaking on the committee’s behalf, reiterated that Brady was denied because he did not die in the line of duty. “[Brady’s] death was extremely tragic. It does not, however, meet the line-of-duty definition as written in the requirements,” said Joel Barkin. “We very much respect his service to the state of New York; however, his very unfortunate death does not meet the agreed-upon criteria.”