Firefighter Killed On Belt Parkway Loved Risky Job: Colleagues

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – Steven Pollard, the firefighter who lost his life trying to rescue crash victims on a Belt Parkway bridge on Sunday, knew the job was dangerous and loved it anyway, according to his fellow firefighters.

"He was a good firefighter who was on his way to being a great firefighter," said FDNY Captain Jimmy Quinn, who worked with Pollard at Ladder Company 170 in Canarsie. "Steven loved this job."

Pollard joined Ladder 170, Battalion 58 in November 2017 after graduating from the Firefighter Academy, or "Probie School," and had served less than two years with the FDNY when he fell 52 feet from a gap in the Mill Basin Bridge, according to the FDNY.

"He was a model Probie," said Quinn. "Any job we gave him, he accomplished it. Any task we asked him to do, he did it well. He was going to be an anchor in the firehouse."

The firehouse on Rockaway Parkway and Farragut Road has since been draped with purple and black bunting to honor Pollard, the 1,151st FDNY member to die in the line-of-duty, photos show.

“He was a great young man," said FDNY lieutenant Philip Miller, also of Ladder 170. "He always came to work happy and always had a smile on his face. He was a great leader."

"Steven Pollard made a massive impact in the Brooklyn community and was very well liked by his Officers and fellow Firefighters for his excellent work," added Uniformed Firefighters Association president Gerard Fitzgerald.

"Steven truly epitomized what it means to be one of 'New York's Bravest' and will be dearly missed."

Pollard came from a family of firefighters. His father, Raymond Pollard served for 32 years with in Ladder Company 102 in Bed-Stuy and his brother, also named Raymond Pollard, has served 11 years with Ladder Company 114 in Sunset Park.

Before joining the FDNY, Pollard worked as a John F. Kennedy Airport crew member, where coworker Fiorella Fortunatti said he earned himself a heroic nickname.

"He was known as Captain America," Fortunatti posted on Facebook. "#RIP."

During his tenure working for JetBlue, Pollard may have worked with the man whose life he worked to save on the Mill Basin Bridge, according to a New York Post report.

“When I seen the photo, I said, ‘This guy looks familiar,’ Travis Simms, one of two men trapped in the crashed Ford Explorer that Pollard was running toward when he fell, told the Post.

"It just made the situation worse,” Simms said. "He made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that I was all right.”

Simms is one of many New Yorkers expected to attend Pollard's funeral at the Good Shepherd R.C. Church at 1950 Batchelder St. on Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Instead of sending flowers, Pollard's family has requested mourners make donations to the UFA Thomas Elasser Fund, which supports families of those who died as active members of the FDNY.

"This is a dangerous job, we all know that," Quinn concluded in a tribute posted to Facebook. "Any day we go out, and any time we go out on a run, there’s nothing routine about it.

"You never know what you’re going to run into."

Photos courtesy of the FDNY