MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND FIRE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA ANNOUNCE THE DEATH OF LIEUTENANT JOHN H. MARTINSON

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta regretfully announced the death of Lieutenant John H. Martinson of Engine Company 249 in Brooklyn.

Lt. Martinson, 40, sustained critical injuries while battling a two-alarm fire at 1700 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn on January 3.

He was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

As firefighters hung ceremonial purple and black bunting on the façade of Engine 249/Ladder 113 honoring Lt. Martinson on January 4, they remembered him as quiet, calm and level-headed.

“When he had something to say, you listened,” said Captain Thomas Reilly of Engine 249. “He led by example. This is a tremendous loss.”

Lt. Martinson was appointed to the FDNY on May 9, 1993.

He previously served at Engine 204, Engine 80 and Ladder 23. While serving at Engine 80, he received a unit citation in 1996.

He was promoted to lieutenant in December 2002 and assigned to Engine 249 in March 2006.

A resident of Staten Island, Lt. Martinson is survived by his wife, Jessica, and 1-year-old son, John Patrick.

Lt. Martinson is the 1,138th member of the New York City Fire Department to make the Supreme Sacrifice in the Department's 144-year history.

Fire at 1700 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn

Firefighters responded to a call for a fire in a 14th floor apartment at 1700 Bedford Avenue at 7:14 p.m., a 25-story multiple dwelling known as the Ebbets Field Houses.

Engine 249 was the first due to the fire.

A second alarm was transmitted at 7:35 p.m. and it was deemed under control at 8:33 p.m. Two other firefighters were transported to Kings County Hospital with smoke inhalation and two were transported to Weill Cornell Medical Center with burns.

Fire marshals determined the cause to be a child playing with fire.

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