His Last Fire Run – Battalion Chief Joseph McKie To Retire

FLATBUSH – Battalion Chief Joseph McKie returned to the 41st Battalion headquarters on Snyder Avenue in Flatbush to pick up his harness and rope – to return to the quartermaster as he prepared for retirement after 30 years with the FDNY. But instead, he jumped in the battalion command SUV and then watched for the last time, his fellow firefighters battle an all-hands fire on Farragut Road – a glorious end to a career that he so dedicated himself.

Chief McKie was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017 and has been on medical leave ever since. Cancer in his body, suspected of being caused by exposure to toxins at the World Trade Center on 9/11, was still present, but his doctors gave him hope that because it was caught early he would do ok. He said he would have a good chance of survival –
something hundreds of rescue workers have since succumbed to since the attack on New York City.

“That day, 9/11 was a terrible day for everybody – we lost 343 and a lot more since. I pray there is not another,” he sighed.

Firefighters gathered around him after the fire on the third floor of 2717 Farragut Road, where a bedroom on the top floor was reduced to burnt rubble. Nobody was hurt in this fire, and Chief McKie was gratified. He then addressed the firefighters.

“I am so blessed to have worked with all of you,” he told dozens of firefighters gathered after the fire in Flatbush. “What I want everyone to know is that if you have any
ailment, anything that your body is telling you isn’t right, don’t ignore it, check it out. You just don’t know what it could be. I was lucky.”

Chief McKie was based at the 41st Battalion in Flatbush for ten years, having started his career as a firefighter in 1988 at Ladder 110 on Tillary Street, the Tillary Tigers. He was a commander at the battalion for nearly four years when he got sick. His official retirement is April 9.

“This will be my last time at a fire, so I’m glad this was it with the guys I’ve worked with,” Chief McKie said. Chief McKie embraced his fellow firefighters and chiefs – many young firefighters looking to him for leadership over the years.

But now he has his wife and four children, ages 19, 18, 15 and 12 to look after. Today, he was scheduled to take his daughter to soccer practice in his hometown of Floral Park, Long Island. He gives thanks every day that he has with his family.

“I’ve been blessed my whole career and have worked with the best people in the world,” Chief McKie said. “If it helps one person to tell them to watch for the warning signs then it is worth it.”