Newsday

Later, as a firefighter for that same company, Graffagnino returned to jumping over that 5-foot fence, this time to borrow eggs and milk from his mother whenever his buddies needed a hot meal but didn't feel up to running out to the store to buy groceries, said fellow firefighter Michael DePaola.

Graffagnino died two days before his 34th birthday of severe smoke inhalation while battling Saturday's blaze in the former Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan. He was attached to Ladder Company 5, but was working that day for Engine 24.

The eight-year Fire Department veteran, who was deployed to the Twin Towers on 9/11, was found lying on the 14th floor, three floors below where the flames broke out.

The derelict building lacked functioning standpipes, which firefighters usually tap for water, forcing them to hoist hoses suspended by ropes from the street.

Graffagnino was a stocky man known for his skill handling heavy fire hoses.

"His strength was his strength," said DePaola, 46. "The guy was an ox."

Those in Graffagnino's neighborhood dubbed him the Mayor of Dyker Heights for his affable personality and ready smile, friends and neighbors said. Whenever he rode through the streets on the fire truck, people would shout and wave to him, DePaola said.

Graffagnino developed close bonds with neighbors -- in winter, even going so far as to shovel their walkways -- and with shopkeepers, often stopping in for a visit. He would frequent Polstein's Home Center, asking the manager's advice on everything from life lessons to small home repair projects.

"It's a big loss for the neighborhood," said the manager, Justo Martinez, who knew Graffagnino for 25 years.

Graffagnino purchased a home about two years ago just three blocks away from the Ladder 149 firehouse, a neighbor said. Sunday, firefighters stood protectively outside the 78th Street home, ushering tearful mourners inside. Around 3 p.m., they lowered a flag outside the residence to half staff.

Graffagnino lived there with his wife, Linda, and their two young children. He was known as a devoted father and was often seen on errands, his 4-year-old daughter in tow because she was so attached to him, friends and neighbors said.

Robert Brannigan, owner of B&A Pork Store, where Graffagnino worked part-time in high school and college, worried about how the daughter would handle the news her father wouldn't be coming home.

"She'd always come in on his shoulders and wouldn't let him put her down," he said. "I don't know how they're going to explain that to her."

Staff writer Lauren McSherry contributed to this story.