Jan 8, 2008 7:15 pm US/Eastern
Thousands Attend Funeral For Fallen Firefighter
Lt. Martinson Died In Brooklyn Blaze Sparked By Child
STATEN ISLAND (CBS) ―
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Lt. John Martinson died fighting a fire in a Crown Heights high-rise.
CBS
Close to 8,000 firefighters, more than two-thirds of the FDNY, lined Nelson Avenue to say farewell to Lieutenant John Martinson, affectionally nicknamed "Johnny Nice Guy" by his friends.
The 40-year-old lieutenant died of smoke inhalation and burns in a blaze at the Ebbets Field apartments in Crown Heights last Thursday.
Martinson' pregnant widow Jessica held onto their 22-month-old son and was surrounded by other relatives, including Martinson's sister Lori, brother Stephen, and mother.
Members of Engine Company 249 remembered the lieutenant leading by example in every aspect of his life. "'Johnny Nice Guy' cause that's what he was. Nicknames stick... he was the guy that would help everyone out, people solicited his advice, right on the mark," Capt. Thomas Reilly from Engine 249 said.
Investigators say a 6-year-old boy started the fire inside the 14th floor apartment after he took toy packaging, placed it on a lit stove and then hid it under his bed to hide it from his mother Hadassah Watkins.
Watkins said she is destroyed about the fiirefighter's death and planned to attend today's funeral - something Martinson's colleagues say would have touched him deeply.
"John would appreciate that. He wouldn't blame anybody. He was there to put out a fire," Reilly said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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