Family and loved ones paid their final
respects Thursday to firefighter Timothy Klein, who died Sunday while battling a house fire in Canarsie.
A wake for Klein was held at McManus Funeral Home to remember the 31-year-old hero.
He had been on the job for six years and came from a long line of firefighters, including his father who also worked for the FDNY.
"This is an incredibly heart breaking day for us, for the department, for the family," says Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. "I'm sure you'll hear it over and over today but everything you hear about Tim Klein is that he was the best firefighter. He was the best son, the best brother. The kind of guy that everyone relied on. And his absence leaves a real whole in our hearts and certainly his families."
Klein was known as being someone his colleagues looked up to. Loved ones tell News 12 he made an effort to give back to the community, even when he was off duty, volunteering with the Fight For Firefighters Foundation and Firefighter Steven H. Pollard Memorial Foundation.
Earlier this week, a black and purple bunting went up outside of Ladder 170 in Canarsie where Klein worked in his memory.
The funeral Mass will be held for Klein Friday at St. Francis de Sales in Belle Harbor at 11 a.m.