by SANDRA HURLEY
A third-generation Brooklyn firefighter whose father was among those killed on 9/11 at Ground Zero was promoted to lieutenant yesterday in a ceremony draped in sadness.
Patrick Burns, 36, of Ladder 123 in Crown Heights, couldn't help but recall Donald Burns.
"He had 40 years with the city. It's hard not to think of him today," he said of the FDNY assistant chief of operations, who perished in the World Trade Center's south tower.
Elizabeth Burns, 66, of Stony Brook, LI, watched with mixed emotions as her son followed in her late husband's footsteps.
"I'm so happy for him, but there's a sad part, too," she admitted at FDNY headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, site of her husband's former office.
Patrick's wife, Alisa, also attended, with 18-month-old daughter Sofia.
The Burns family's service with the FDNY started in 1937 with Patrick's grandfather.
 |
