One of the Bravest fighting for his life after The Bronx blaze is a 31-year-old hero who joined the department after his brother died on 9/11.
“When I was a kid, he used to tell me that I had to be a firefighter,” Brendan Cawley had said of his tragic brother, Michael, in a newspaper interview after the attacks. “When I asked him why, he told me it was because being a firefighter was the greatest job in the world.”
Yesterday, his battalion chief, John Sullivan, said: “Brendan was brand new. But he had a tremendous attitude. You wouldn’t think a tragedy like that would happen twice to a family.”
The heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in that blaze and another in Brooklyn were:
* Lt. Curtis W. Meyran, a 15-year veteran, died after leading five fellow firefighters into the blazing building on East 178th Street to search for trapped occupants.
Twice decorated for bravery – in 1991 while working at Ladder Co. 161 and in 1997 while assigned to Ladder Co. 123 – Meyran, 46, had become a lieutenant two years ago. One firefighter who worked with him described him a “great leader and great firehouse guy” who loved sports and was a member of the FDNY softball team.
His wife of 18 years, Jeanette, was too distraught to speak at his Malverne, L.I., home, where she was comforting his three children, Dennis, 16, Angela, 10, and Dineen, 5. His brother said Meyran was a “fun-filled guy” and “devoted family man” who had just returned from taking his children to visit his mother, 85, on the North Fork.
“He had a life ahead of him,” said Glenn Meyran.
* Firefighter John Bellew, who died alongside Meyran, joined the FDNY in 1994.
He had worked at Ladder Co. 10 and Engine Co. 23 before moving to Ladder Co. 27 in The Bronx, where his devastated colleagues called him a great sportsman and friend.
“John was a great guy and a real family man. He was always there for everyone,” said his colleague, Lt. Mark McKay.
Bellew lived with his wife, Eileen, 35, and their four young children, Brielle, 6, Jack, 3, Katreana, 2, and 4-month-old Kieran, in upstate Pearl River.
“It’s just tragic,” said his brother Danny Bellew. “He loved his wife and family so much, his youngest will never know his dad. He will only know him through photos and stories.”
* Firefighter Richard Sclafani of Ladder Co. 103 died in a separate blaze in Brooklyn. Sclafani was a 10-year veteran.
A resident of Bayside, Queens, the 37-year-old is survived by his mother, Joan, and his sister, Joanne.
Critically injured in the Bronx blaze were:
* Joseph DiBernado of Rescue Co. 3, who was in serious condition with two broken legs and a broken pelvis.
Neighbors on Long Island said he had always wanted to be a firefighter like his father, who is a retired battalion chief.
“He has the same firebug as his dad does,” said Dan Sproul, who added that DiBernado had lost many friends in his firehouse on Sept. 11.
* His fellow Rescue 3 firefighter, Jeffrey Cool, who was in a stable condition, is also known for his bravery.
The 12-year veteran is due to get a medal this year for his service at another Bronx fire, where he dangled from a rope held by fellow firefighters and lowered a terrified 200-pound man to safety.
* Also battling injuries is Eugene Stolowski, of upstate Florida, who ran the commissary in the Ladder 27 firehouse and worked other jobs to support his family, firefighters said.
Additional reporting by Michael White, C.J. Sullivan and Alex Ginsberg