Submitted by his mother
My son Richard served 10 years on the NYFD and he loved his job. He was trained in and taught safety procedures to fellow firefighters.
He was compassionate‚ loving‚ caring‚ and never said no when someone asked for his help.
When he started in 1994‚ his first house was Squad 18 in New York but he said he wanted a busier house somewhere where he could do more……and so he transferred to Ladder 103 in Brooklyn‚ N.Y. which was certainly one of the busiest houses we have. He was happy there‚ although he talked about his friends back in Squad 18 a lot‚ and how he did miss them.
He lost his life in the line of duty in a basement fire searching for a 5 year old child. I miss him deeply and as time goes by I miss him even more. His sister JoAnn and he were very close‚ he was her friend‚ confidant‚ advisor – he was her only brother.
He is my son.
Your sons sacrifice and safety for the Citizens of New York is one of which is truly unprecedented. I would like for you to know that we are thinking of him and you as well as the Sclafani family as a whole each and every day. We still have work 2 do. God Bless.
– Chris