Sean Patrick Maloney: “Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleagues today in saluting and paying tribute to John Downing, Brian Fahey…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleagues today in saluting and paying tribute to John Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford and expressing our condolences to their families. What happened on Father's Day this year is a very sad reminder of what happens all too often in this country. It reminded me specifically of that sad day a couple of years ago when we lost six of our firefighters in that tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have spent a lot of time with firefighters during the course of my career. I had the tremendous honor of serving as the mayor of my hometown, as my father did before me and as he does to this very day at the age of 90. In the course of our careers, we had the opportunity to work with a great many outstanding firefighters. Today I spend some of my leisure time with my firefighter friends at Engine 1 in Troy, New York, named for the late Harry Dahl, who gave 44 years of his life in the fire service in the city of Troy, New York. I have seen firsthand the dangers that firefighters face every single day of their lives. Also a few years back, from the neighboring city of Watervilet, responding to a mutual alarm in Troy, New York, our fire chief, Tommy McCormack, lost his life in the line of duty. Mr. Speaker, nothing can bring back John or Brian or Harry, but I suggest that there is something that we can do.…”