Public Employee Press

The ultimate sacrifice
Local 983 member dies from injuries he received saving four children from a fire.

“No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends.” —John 15:13 (New American Standard Bible)

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

City Seasonal Aide James Anthony Frye made the ultimate sacrifice. The Local 983 member died June 12 of the injuries he sustained leaping from a deadly apartment fire at 3 a.m., June 2, after he saved four children's lives.

After escorting the children to safety, Frye returned to the burning apartment for their 59-year-old grandmother, who had been overcome by smoke. He jumped from a second-floor window of the Unity Houses on Georgia Avenue in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood to escape the blaze. A 10-year Parks Dept. veteran, Frye, 47, laid in a medically induced coma in Brookdale Hospital's intensive care unit until he succumbed to his injuries. The woman, Adrienne Mitchell, also died.

"James was the type of employee who was always willing to go the extra mile for the public," said Local 983 Treasurer Melina Giga, who worked with him for several years. "If someone was lost, he'd walk with them, and he'd help elderly people up stairs."

A member of the Parks Enforcement Patrol, Frye worked as a City Seasonal Aide at Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Coney Island Beach and Bushwick Inlet Park on the Williamsburg waterfront. He was assigned to work full-time for two years helping secure the beach and boardwalks at Coney Island during the recovery effort following Hurricane Sandy.

"James was a teddy bear, a gentle giant," said Giga. "He was always warm and approachable, always willing to help."

Frye was staying with his friend Mitchell in the New York City Housing Authority building while his apartment was being renovated when the fire broke out. Fire officials said an overloaded power strip had ignited the blaze that killed two and injured eight.

"He heard screams early that morning and did not hesitate to act and save others," Giga said.

"James was always upbeat and dynamic," said his supervisor, Local 983 Parks Enforcement Patrol Captain Tanya Price. "He could put a smile on your face when you were down. The way he died showed who he was - he gave 100 percent of himself to make sure others were OK."

Local 983 members collected $1,000 to help the Frye family, who struggled to pay for the funeral, and a generous Parks Dept. donation covered some of the expense, said Local President Joe Puleo. Frye is survived by his mother, Betty Heyward, 65, of Atlanta, and his 14-year-old daughter, Kiara Spain, who can receive Frye's death benefit when she comes of age.

James Frye was well loved and highly regarded by his family, his union brothers and sisters and his Parks Dept. co-workers and supervisors, said Puleo. "We are deeply saddened by his death. He was a hero who bravely and unselfishly gave to others. He made the ultimate sacrifice and we will miss him."