by JESS WISLOSKI
FDNY Capt. Jerry Horton's voice cracked Sunday as he fought in vain to hold back tears as he spoke of Firefighter Daniel Pujdak at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the young hero's death.
Pujdak's fire company, Ladder 146 in Brooklyn, has not stopped grieving for the 23-year-old, who plummeted from the roof of a burning Williamsburg building last June 21, Horton said.
"But at the same time, I hope we can always remember to celebrate his life," he said.
And that's just what they did.
More than 100 relatives and friends crowded into Pujdak's former Greenpoint firehouse to join Mayor Bloomberg and top FDNY brass, who unveiled a memorial plaque honoring Pujdak.
"The city and this community will always remember Daniel with gratitude and pride," said Bloomberg. "May God bless his memory, and may God bless the FDNY."
It was a year ago Saturday that Pujdak accepted the risky job of climbing to the roof of a burning building after a cigarette started a small fire in an illegal flat.
He lost his balance and fell more than 60 feet to the street below. A trumpeter played taps as somber FDNY officers stood at attention while a small cloth was lifted from the plaque that features a photo of a grinning, helmeted Pujdak.
Bagpipes sounded as the procession moved outside to Richardson St. and toward a street sign that shows the block between Lorimer and Leonard Sts. has been renamed for Pujdak. Pujdak's legacy has lived on in other ways: His younger brother Matthew graduated from the Fire Academy seven months after the fatal fall.
"This is wonderful. It's very touching," said Christina Pujdak, the fallen firefighter's mother. "It helps keep his memory alive."
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