Brian Cannizzaro would burst into a room, eyes twinkling, and you would not believe what had just happened to him. "There was always some Herculean effort that had gone awry," said Charles Cannizzaro, a brother. "There was always something to get the ball rolling."

Once, it was the story of how Mr. Cannizzaro, a firefighter at Ladder Company 101 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, had earned the nickname Rat Boy by leaping into a Dumpster to put out a fire, then leaping right back out when a furry creature scampered into his protective clothing. And then there was the tale of heroism from his second job, as a security officer at the "Ricki Lake" show, when he had broken up a fight between two guests and then found himself encircled by autograph-seeking audience members.

Obsessed with the movie "Gladiator," Mr. Cannizzaro, 30, wanted to name his son after its hero, Maximus. His wife, Jacqueline, considered it, but the baby, now just over a year old, was named Christopher.

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