Thomas
Hannafin was a top-notch firefighter, and may have been an even
better athlete. Earlier this year, the 36-year-old Westerleigh
resident captured a gold medal in the three-on-three basketball
competition at the World/Police Fire Department Games in Indianapolis.
On Tuesday, Mr. Hannafin, a member of Ladder Co. 5 in Greenwich
Village, died after responding to the World Trade Center suicide
attack. He was last seen on the 37th floor in Tower 1. "My brother
Tom lived his life to the fullest every day," said his brother
Kevin, a firefighter assigned to Ladder Co. 119 in Brooklyn. "He
was a family man who was always with his children and his wife,
and he was a great athlete and team guy." Kevin Hannafin, in an
emotional twist, was among the rescue workers who pulled his brother
and other members of Ladder 5 from the charred wreckage. "I was
very proud of my brother," said Kevin Hannafin, "and I was happy
to be with the recovery effort." Mr. Hannafin was a lifelong Westerleigh
resident and had been a firefighter for 10 years. He was a graduate
of Susan Wagner High School and the College of Staten Island.
He was a member of the Fire Department's Emerald Society and the
department's basketball team which competed in the Indianapolis
games. Mr. Hannafin enjoyed bicycling, playing basketball, softball
and football, and traveling. He was a parishioner of Sacred Heart
R.C. Church, West Brighton. Surviving, in addition to his brother,
Kevin, are his wife, the former Rene Bacotti; a son, Thomas, 3;
a daughter, Kayla, 5, and four brothers, Dennis, Patrick, John
and Peter. The funeral will be Thursday from the Casey Funeral
Home, Castleton Corners, with a mass at 11 a.m. in Sacred Heart
Church. Burial will be in St. Peter's Cemetery, West Brighton.
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