Sean
S. Hanley, 35, third-generation firefighter
On his way home from Manhattan Tuesday morning, he turned back
when he heard radio reports of a fire at the World Trade Center
By Kathleen Lucadamo Monday, 09/17/2001 Sean S. Hanley heard stories
about his grandfather's untimely death battling a blaze, but became
a firefighter anyway. He contemplated a second career a few years
ago when his three firehouse buddies died in line of duty, but
decided being a firefighter was in his blood — no matter what
the risk. On Tuesday, that call to service brought the 35-year-old
Bulls Head resident to Lower Manhattan minutes after he signed
off for the day. The lifelong Staten Islander finished his night
shift as a firefighter with Ladder Co. 20 in the SoHo section
of Manhattan and planned to stop by his friend's midtown office.
As he drove away in his black truck at around 8:45 a.m., Mr. Hanley
flipped on the radio and heard that the Twin Towers were on fire;
he rushed directly to the World Trade Center. Family had heard
little about his whereabouts or condition until fire officials
confirmed Mr. Hanley's death on Saturday. "He was a soft-hearted
guy who would cry at the drop of a hat, yet he would go and fight
for whoever needed it," said his father, Gerald, a retired firefighter
from Engine 151 in Tottenville. "He was All-American, just like
all the boys who went down." Mr. Hanley comes from a long line
of firefighters. His paternal grandfather, Gerald, died on Dec.
13, 1939, after fighting a fire with Engine Co. 282 in Brooklyn.
He wore the shield number of his late maternal grandfather, Sanford
Degon, who was also a firefighter with Ladder 20. His brother,
Bryan Thomas Hanley, is a retired firefighter from Ladder Co.
101 in Brooklyn. In addition to his brother and his father, Gerald,
surviving are his mother, the former Patricia Degon; two more
brothers, Gerald Jr. and Kevin; his maternal grandmother, Ann
Degon, and his paternal grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Hanley. Mr.
Hanley was set to be an usher in Gerald Jr.'s wedding this weekend,
which was postponed. "We were all suppose to be together this
weekend. We were suppose to be having a good time," said Gerald
Jr. Only days before the tragedy, Allan Middleton hosted a party
for Mr. Hanley because the FX cable station was airing "Tough
Man," a boxing match between the Police and Fire departments in
which the six-foot-four-inch Mr. Hanley fought. "He was the funny
commentator, giving us a scene by scene of what we didn't see,"
said Middleton. The two met while students at New York University,
where Mr. Hanley took a few classes. Mr. Hanley was a graduate
of Tottenville High School and a native of Annadale. He was a
prankster who walked into the firehouse with a set of "Austin
Powers" teeth and glasses his first day of appointment and often
put shaving cream on the phone receiver before colleagues picked
it up. Mr. Hanley was with the Fire Department for five years,
spending some time at Engine Co. 257 in Brooklyn, where three
firefighters were killed in December 1998 while battling a high-rise
inferno in Brooklyn. Mr. Hanley had switched shifts with one of
the firefighters killed, according to his family, and debated
leaving the department. "He decided to stay with it because he
really wanted to help people," said his father. "That is our family
tradition." Mr. Hanley enjoyed boxing and playing basketball at
local courts. According to his family, he loved talking on the
phone. "He was a fighter and a lover," said his aunt, Marie Degon.
The funeral will be tomorrow from the Harmon Home for Funerals,
with a mass at 10 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, both
West Brighton. Private cremation will follow, and burial of ashes
will be in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
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