The selfless wife of fallen battalion chief Michael Fahy is refusing donations to help pay off the family’s mortgage – and insists the money be used to build smart homes for wounded soldiers.
Fiona Fahy recalls watching a documentary with her hero husband the week before he was killed on Sept. 27 at a Bronx drug house explosion.
“For the Love of Their Brother” aired on public television and told how the family of 9/11 hero firefighter Stephen Siller created the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to help others.
“At the end of the show, Mike said ‘this should be our family service project,” the mother of three said. “This is an organization we should support with the kids.’”
Both Michael and Fiona Fahy attended law school and passed the bar – but while Fiona stayed in law, her husband followed his heart – and his father – into service for the fire department.
After Fahy’s tragic death, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation told his widow they wanted to help.
“We wanted to pay off and help with the mortgage,” said John Hodge, COO of the foundation and a cousin of Stephen Siller.
But Fahy refused.
Instead, she told Hodge she wanted to “pay it forward” to others less fortunate – and directed him to give any money raised in their name to Building for America’s Bravest, another initiative by the foundation that constructs custom “smart homes” for severely injured US soldiers.
“I think there was a reason we watched that together a few nights before,” Fahy said Thursday at a press conference at Battalion 19/Engine 75, the Bronx house where her husband served.
“When I heard from the Stephen Siller foundation, I just felt like it was a sign. This is what Mike wanted and I’m really happy to be able to do something that he already wanted to do.”
Chief of Dept. James Leonard praised Fahy for making sure her husband’s last wish – to help disabled American soldiers – was honored.
“Mike Fahy lived as a hero on this job, died as a hero on this job and will never ever be forgotten on this job. But by what you’re doing, he will be known worldwide,” he told her.
