Raymond R. York ‘Fireman Ray’ Died in the Rubble

Raymond York could not be kept from the World Trade Center after two hijacked airplanes smashed into it Tuesday. York, a 20-year city firefighter from Valley Stream, died beneath the rubble of the falling Twin Towers. He wasn't supposed to be there, said Bill Abruzziano, York's friend, fellow firefighter and brother-in-law. York, 45, had been injured on the job about a year ago and had been assigned to light duty. He was playing the role of "Fireman Ray” in the Fire Zone, a theatrical fire safety show at Rockefeller Center. On Tuesday, he was about to do a public relations event for a television station when he heard about the first plane hitting one of the towers, Abruzziano said. He ran to the nearest fire house, Ladder Co. 2 and Engine Co. 8 on 51st Street. When the second plane hit, York ran back to Rockefeller Center, got his firefighting gear and hitched a ride with the television station's satellite truck. "He was so pumped up,” Abruzziano said. "This was like a call to arms for him. He would have to be there.” The television truck got snarled in traffic at Canal Street, so York flagged a ride with a passing ambulance. He wasn't seen again until his body was pulled from beneath the rubble the next morning. That same full-tilt enthusiasm colored everything York did, said Abruzziano. "He loved his family, his country and his job,” Abruzziano said. When his first marriage ended and he found himself a single father, Abruzziano said York requested a transfer to a Queens fire house so he could be closer to his daughter, Kristina. Abruzziano said he introduced York to his sister Joan, who became his wife, with only a little trepidation. "Just because you hang out with someone doesn't mean he's going to be good to your sister,” Abruzziano said. "But he treated my sister like a queen. You'd see them together and you knew they were in love.” When they got their house in Valley Stream, it was run down. But instead of making it look pretty, Abruzziano said, York first built a laundry chute after he noticed his wife carrying the laundry to the basement. He had three children with Joan York, Kristen, Robbie and Michael."He was like a big kid himself. "That's why he was a success in the Fire Zone as ‘Fireman Ray,'” Abruzziano said. "It was for kids, so he was at his best,” he said. As a firefighter himself, Abruzziano said it's been difficult to read the the long list of missing and killed firefighters. "It's so huge, this thing,” he said. "I know 60 guys on that list. But Ray, he was a good one.” York's funeral was Saturday.--Andrew Smith (Newsday)

Back to Ray's Home Page