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This story has been updated to reflect a change of venue because of forecasted weather.
James Mager was a born and bred New Yorker. The youngest of six children, raised in the Bronx, he followed in the steps of his father, an FDNY lieutenant, and joined the department in his late 20s.
For the bulk of his career, Mager served out of Engine Company 293, in Woodhaven, Queens, aka “The Woodhaven Wildcats.” He worked mostly as a chauffeur, but often filled in elsewhere in the department, where he would invariably obtain insights and refine tactics.
Mager, though, had faced obstacles as a child. When he was 8 years old and living in Parkchester, he was diagnosed with Perthes' disease, a rare and painful condition that affects young children by disrupting blood flow to the hip, causing the femur to deteriorate and restricting movement.
In a sign of his budding determination, Jimmy, outfitted with a brace, played on his local basketball team. Within a few years, the pain would ease and he would recover enough to be able to run, swim and bicycle. He would go on to become a karate black belt.
He joined the FDNY on April 15, 1989, serving 20 years with the department as well as four years in the U.S. Navy.
Like nearly all of his FDNY colleagues at the time, he participated in the search and rescue operations at the World Trade Center site following the September 11 terror attacks.
Like them, he would bear the emotional scars. And soon also physical ones: Mager was eventually diagnosed with an aggressive form of small cell lung cancer.
He was 61 when he died April 8 last year. He left behind his wife, Kathy; a son, Michael; a granddaughter, Micah; and siblings Lynn, Henry and Elizabeth.
This weekend, Mager will be among the 17 members of the FDNY and 209 other firefighters from around the nation honored at the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The tribute May 4 and 5 will honor 89 firefighters who died in the line of duty last year and 137 who died in earlier years.
“National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend is a time for our country to acknowledge and remember the heroism, bravery and selflessness of fallen firefighters from across the country,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a statement. “This year, 17 members of the FDNY will be honored, and we are grateful to have an opportunity to pause and reflect on their commitment and sacrifice to our Department, and our City. We will never forget them.”
The weekend events, at the PNC Sports Complex Arena at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, are open to the public and will be streamed live. Originally scheduled to take place on the grounds of the National Emergency Training Center, also in Emmitsburg, they have been moved indoors because of forecasted weather.
The National Fallen Firefighters Candlelight Service, on Saturday, begins at 7:30 p.m. The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service, Sunday, begins at 10 a.m.
“National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend is a time for our nation to pause and reflect on the heroic efforts and selfless service of the fallen firefighters we are paying tribute to this year,” the CEO of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Victor Stagnaro, said in a statement. “We will always remember the bravery, commitment, and sacrifices of each of these 226 heroes — and their families.”
The weekend's events will be streamed live on the NFFF’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page. More information on the foundation and the Memorial Weekend can be found on the NFFF’s webpage, https://www.firehero.org/.
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