Assembly OKs second version of Brady Bill

Almost five months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have ended a five-year battle to include the name of fallen Malverne firefighter Paul Brady on a memorial wall in Albany, the State Assembly has passed a new version of the legislation.

Assembly Bill 10046, sponsored by Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and co-sponsored by Brian Curran (R-Lynbrook), who represents the 14th District, which includes part of Malverne, was unanimously approved on May 31.

The legislation states that any firefighter who is killed due to services performed in the line of duty will be added to the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The memorial is dedicated to more than 2,000 firefighters who have died while on the job.

“The approval of this bill gives us the opportunity to honor and recognize the brave firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting their fellow citizens,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver stated in a release. “This bill will ensure that any firefighter who has perished in the line of duty will have their name inscribed on the Fallen Firefighters Memorial.”

The bill was written after Brady, 42, a volunteer firefighter, died while on duty in the Malverne firehouse in July 2006. Brady was accidentally crushed to death while doing routine maintenance on the roof of a rescue truck. A fellow volunteer, unaware that Brady was on top of the truck, drove it out of the building, trapping Brady in a 5-inch clearance between the truck and a ceiling beam. He suffered internal injuries and died later at Nassau University Medical Center.

Since then, the Malverne F.D. has fought to get Brady's name added to the memorial wall, and has been denied five times by the memorial’s selection committee, even though state and federal law designated Brady’s death as having happened in the line of duty. His name is inscribed in the U.S. Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland.