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Wake For Hero Firefighter Held In Brooklyn

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Jun 25, 2007 5:23 am US/Eastern

Wake For Hero Firefighter Held In Brooklyn

By CBS 2's Dave Carlin
NEW YORK (CBS) ― The line of family, friends and firefighters who came to remember Daniel Pujdak, the young man who they say was always there with a smile, eager to learn, and glad to help went around the building and down the block.

The 23-year-old died Thursday, after falling from the roof of a burning building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

"He's going to be greatly missed," said Jonathan Lavore. "This showing alone is proof of that."

Pudjak is being remembered at this wake as the young firefighter with the easy smile, big heart and tireless work ethic. At his wake, his Ladder 146 colleagues wrestle with the nightmare of losing a firefighting brother.

"I'm not feeling well," said one firefighter.

Several of Pujdak's friends from his school days at St. Francis Prep attended the wake for all 7-hours of visitation, and they say they are still in shock over his death.

"He was always out there for others, that was why he became a firefighter," his best friend E.J. Kapela said. "He loved his job, and I couldn't see him doing anything else."

Pujdak was loaded down with an extra 100 pounds of firefighting gear, preparing to cut a hole for smoke to escape through the building's roof, when he slipped at the top of the ladder and fell four stories to his death. The fire that he was trying to control started in a converted factory, and was sparked by a loft tenant who left a burning cigarette.

That fire ultimately turned out to be a relatively minor blaze, confined to a window sill.

Other tenants were angry that a careless mistake led to the firefighter's death, but friends and family say now is not the time for blame.

"He passed doing what he wanted to do," said Kapela. "He wanted to go up that ladder."

Prayer cards and photos honoring Pujdak can be seen in bodegas and churches throughout the nearby neighborhood. The wake is scheduled to continue tomorrow, and a funeral is planned Tuesday at Saint Cecilia's Catholic Church in Brooklyn.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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