Newsday

Neighbor Ralph Venturino had promised to fix it, and so he did, one day after his friend died battling a seven-alarm blaze near Ground Zero.

"I told him, 'I'm going to fix it,'" said Venturino, 51, who said he had recently helped Beddia reupholster the 1983 Alfa's leather seats.

"I'm sorry, Bobby."

At the stoop of Beddia's one-story home on Andrews Street, neighbors added flower bouquets, candles and plastic firefighter's hats to a growing memorial. A heartfelt message posted on his front door read: "You will be missed."

Venturino's wife, Roberta, described Beddia as a "very cordial" man who kept mostly to himself and spent long hours at the firehouse where he was stationed, Engine Company 24 at Sixth Avenue and Houston Street in Manhattan.

"It was like getting kicked in the chest," said Roberta Venturino, 55, when he heard the news of Beddia's death. "It's a horrible way to go."

Beddia, a 23-year veteran of the city's Fire Department, and fellow firefighter Joseph Graffagnino died of cardiac arrest after suffering severe smoke inhalation in Saturday's fire at the former Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan, officials said. The firefighters were attempting to run a hose to the 14th floor when they became trapped in "maze-like conditions" and their oxygen tanks ran out.

The former Deutsche Bank office building was declared a toxic site and abandoned after Sept. 11, 2001, when pieces of the World Trade Center crashed into it, damaging it beyond repair.

Beddia's former brother-in-law, Michael Mehr, of Henderson, Nev., said Beddia had three siblings: James Beddia, Barbara, and Susan. No immediate family members could be reached Sunday.

Neighbors said they last saw Beddia about three days ago, when he had mowed his lawn in the South Beach section of Staten Island and then left the house.

Kendy Espinal, 32, brought five red plastic firefighters' hats to her neighbor's stoop Sunday, and later returned with a flashing light and a thank-you note reading, "Thank you for giving us flowers," signed by her 8-year-old daughter, Briana.

Ralph Venturino, who recalled Beddia's dry sense of humor, said he was renovating his house and had said he planned to "get a bunch of buddies from the firehouse" to help him.

An old furnace, an antique chair and pieces of plywood from his renovation project lay in the driveway Sunday.

Beddia had recently given him a bicycle outfitted with a pouch containing rain gear and a $20 bill, Venturino said. "That was Bobby. Always ready for something," he said.

Staff writer Laura Rivera contributed to this story.