Newsday

As loved ones began to lay red roses one by one on his coffin at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, the rain stopped, the air warmed and traces of sun peeked through the gray sky.

"When the rain came, I think he was laughing at us a little bit," said firefighter Matt Adee, McCarthy's friend and Engine Co. 280 mate.

Ever the jokester, McCarthy's carefree spirit and likable disposition drew many to him. Those qualities also made it more difficult for them to comprehend his untimely death.

The 12-year FDNY veteran, one of five brothers who followed their father into the department, died Monday of complications related to cancer, just six days shy of his 36th birthday.

Earlier in the day, more than 1,000 people packed Bedford Avenue in front of St. Barnabas the Apostle Church in Bellmore to honor McCarthy, who responded to the World Trade Center site following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

City firefighters from Engine Cos. 280 and 132, in Brooklyn, and members of the Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department assembled on the church steps facing the line of honor guards, fire department personnel, union officials, firefighters and dignitaries.

At 10 a.m., an Engine Co. 280 fire truck emblazoned with the words "In Memory of Sean McCarthy," centered among two shamrocks, emerged followed by a Bellmore fire department truck carrying McCarthy's coffin and adorned with purple and black-striped mourning bunting.

The stillness in the air was undercut by the intermittent sounding of church bells and Stacey McCarthy's uncontrollable sobs as she stared at her husband's coffin.

Several charter buses were filled with family members who slowly filed into the church, followed by more than 200 extended family members who lined the sidewalk down to the corner, past Marle Place. Close to 900 people witnessed the service honoring the longtime Bellmore resident who became a junior member of the Bellmore fire department when he was 14 years old and a full member at 18. He joined the FDNY in 1996.

The Rev. Gilbert Lap said there were about 800 mourners inside. The rest watched a simulcast of the service on a screen in the basement.

During the service, Adee and two of McCarthy's brothers, James and Francis, recounted old stories of fishing in Montauk with McCarthy, when striped bass and cod were plentiful. Bellmore Fire Chief Cornelius Maguire spoke of how McCarthy seemed destined to be a firefighter once his interest was piqued by his late father, Lt. James McCarthy.

"9/11 stands out in my mind, when he tirelessly worked and struggled to search for those who were lost. Now all of us are lost," he said, fighting back tears.

At the end of the service, as pallbearers prepared McCarthy's coffin for its final procession, family friend Sara Romeo of Bellmore watched the truck as it pulled away.

"What a send-off, huh?" Romeo said. "Sean was such a great guy. He really deserved it - and more."