Firefighter Steven H. Pollard Dies Trying To Save Crash Victims
MILL BASIN — Firefighter Steven H. Pollard died in the line of duty Sunday night en route to rescue victims of a 2-car crash along the Belt Parkway. He was 30.
Pollard and other members of Ladder Company 170 responded to the crash along Belt Parkway East near Flatbush Avenue around 10:00 pm. Officials said Pollard was walking to the crash when the firefighter slipped through a gap in the roadway plunging 52 feet to the ground.
“It’s an incredibly sad night for the Pollard family, for the Fire Department and for our city,” said FDNY Commissioner Daniel A, Nigro in a Facebook post. “He lost his life tonight in the process of helping others.”
Following the accident, Mayor de Blasio and Nigro were at Kings County Hospital where the firefighter was pronounced dead. Officials held a press release on the matter early Monday morning.
Tragedy struck earlier this evening, as one of our brave NYC firefighters succumbed to injuries sustained responding to a traffic crash in Mill Basin. The Mayor & FDNY Commissioner were at Kings County Hospital with the hero’s family and colleagues moments ago. pic.twitter.com/rlxLeXbLsa
— Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) January 7, 2019
Pollard was a probationary firefighter with a year-and-half on the job, according to Nigro. The new FDNY member comes from a family of firefighters including his father, retired Firefighter Ray Pollard and his brother, Firefighter Ray Pollard, Jr.
“This is a family who has done so much for New York City and now they’re going through this loss and this pain,” said the mayor. “It’s a very, very tough situation,”
Nigro says Pollard is the 1,151 member of FDNY to die on the job in New York City.