At left, Harry L. Davis; at right, Davis along with fellow FDIC HOT instructors (Photo courtesy of Mike Ciampo)
Retired Fire Department of New York (FDNY) firefighter and FDIC hands-on training instructor Harry L. Davis passed away last month.
Davis, of FDNY Squad 18, was appointed on September 29, 1973 and retired June 30, 2002. He passed away Friday, November 11, 2016. According to the FDNY, “this member bravely served this Department protecting life and property in the City of New York in the rescue and recovery at Manhattan Box 5-5-8087 World Trade Center.”
According to an online obituary, Davis fell asleep in death at his home in Oxford, Pennsylvania. Born on January 12, 1951 in Pamplico, South Carolina, Harry was the first born child to the late Sarah Lee and Cleveland Davis. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he met his first wife Janet and had two children Lakala and Emiko. Harry and his second wife Marcia Bliey had two additional children together, Kosiko and Jonathan. He was also the dear step-father to his current wife Esther’s two sons, Maurice and Courtland.
A decorated and respected firefighter, Harry Lee began his FDNY career at the age of 22 in 1973. Starting at Ladder 103 in Brooklyn, later moving to Ladder 175 where he earned four Certificates of Merit and an award presented by Mayor Koch in 1984. In 1997, Harry moved to the newly re-established Squad 18, a unit of elite firefighters trained in specialties to face an increasingly dangerous city with abilities to handle everything from weapons of mass destruction to swiftwater rescue. Harry was viewed as a mentor and an elder statesmen by many younger firefighters and was respected for his wealth of knowledge about the skill and talent of firefighting.
Fire Engineering and FDIC International would like to extend our condolences to Davis’s family and loved ones.
