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William N. Tolley

Firefighter

Firefighter Tolley and the members of his ladder company were working on the scene of a structure fire on the second floor of a five-story building. Firefighter Tolley was assigned to the roof position on his crew.

As Firefighter Tolley either exited or entered the tower ladder bucket at the roof, he fell or was thrown from the bucket and dropped to his death. Media reports indicated that the tower ladder bucket may have become hung up or stuck on the parapet wall.

photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
William N. Tolley was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

Fire Department New York City
9 Metrotech Center
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Chief: James E. Leonard

Age: 42
Rank: Firefighter
Classification: Career
Incident date: April 20, 2017 14:20
Date of death: April 20, 2017
Cause of fatal injury: Fall
Nature of fatal injury: Trauma
Activity type: Ventilation
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: On-Scene Fire
Fixed property use: Residential

Last updated: June 15, 2018