FDNY welcomes newest recruits to join ranks, including two 9/11 legacies
A newly minted FDNY firefighter who was part of the class of recruits to join the ranks Wednesday is a 9/11 legacy and will report to duty at the same Queens firehouse where his late father began his career.
Henry Hinton, 35, whose namesake dad died of cancer linked to his Ground Zero rescue work, was among the 298 probationary firefighters to graduate from the FDNY Academy on Wednesday.
“Today is big for our family, not just for me, for everyone,” Hinton, of South Hempstead, told The Post following the ceremony at the Christian Cultural Center’s Brooklyn Campus.
“It’s a great day, but also sad. I wish my dad was here.”
Despite retiring just weeks before the 9/11 terror attacks unfolded, Hinton said his father — FDNY Lt. Henry Hinton — still rushed to the World Trade Center in the immediate aftermath to help with the search and rescues.
Now, Hinton — who lost his father to the disease three years ago — will follow in his footsteps.
“I’m going to Engine 275, the firehouse he started at. I went there for the first time on Monday night, it’s the same firehouse, I still remember it and I am very excited for it,” the recruit said. “A couple of people came up to me and said ‘Hey, you look familiar, did your dad work here?’.”
“It’s a good feeling,” Hinton continued. “I wish he was here to see this. He would probably be happier than me.”
Brian Sullivan, too, is a 9/11 legacy who joined the ranks Wednesday.
His father, Lt. Christopher Sullivan, was last seen racing up the stairs inside One World Trade on 9/11 to help those still trapped inside.
“It feels like I’ve achieved a lifelong dream,” Sullivan said. “My family is very proud of me and I’m excited to get out in the field. It’s an honor to be part of this department and continue his legacy.”
Meanwhile, fellow graduate Jerome Nedd Jr. also lost his father in the terror attacks.
The 33-year-old’s dad, Jerome Nedd, had been working as a chef at Windows of the World in the North Tower when it came crumbling down.
“Firefighters went to that building to try and get him out. Those brave heroes that died in that building, I wanted to be like one of them,” Nedd, of Marine Park, Brooklyn, told The Post.
“That was one the worst days of my life. When somebody loses their home or a family member in a fire, that’s one of their worst days and I want to be there for them — just to help because I know how that feels.”
In addition to Nedd and Hinton, the FDNY’s latest graduating class consists of 34 military veterans and 10 women.
“I’m overwhelmed. I am very happy to be here. I have waited my whole life to be here,” one of the vets, Patrick Williamson, said, noting he served 16 years in the Air National Guard.
The deciding moment for the military vet to join the FDNY, he said, was losing seven members of his unit while on deployment in Iraq in 2018, including two who were New York firefighters.
“That was my moment I decided I need to carry their name on and carry that tradition of rescue and helping those who need help,” Williams said. “I was thinking of them all day long. They’re in my heart forever.”
Unlike last week’s FDNY promotion ceremony where New York Attorney General Letitia James was jeered by pro-Trump attendees, there was no booing from Wednesday’s graduating class.
“Following rigorous training at the Fire Academy, these firefighters are prepared to enter their firehouses and begin helping New Yorkers,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
“We continue to see more women and people of color join this department and demonstrate this job can be done by anyone who is dedicated to become a member of New York’s Bravest.”
