A rookie firefighter who was "born for" a life in the FDNY was remembered by hundreds of mourners yesterday for heroically dying in the line of the duty he embraced. Michael Kiefer - on the job for just nine months when he was killed Sept. 11 - was honored for a 25-year life of devotion to family, firefighting and his faith during a funeral Mass at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Franklin Square, L.I.
"You always told me, 'If I can be half the man you are, I'll be okay,' " Bud Kiefer said as he stood over his son's coffin. "You got that backward, pal - you are my hero.
One of the youngest of the Bravest killed in the World Trade Center attacks, Kiefer dreamed since childhood of becoming a New York City firefighter. He volunteered for several Long Island fire departments and worked as a lifeguard and emergency medical technician before being assigned to Ladder Co. 132 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in December 2000. There, veterans of the "Eye of the Storm" firehouse nicknamed him "Kiefer the Keeper.
"From the moment he walked into quarters, he fit in like he was born for it," Capt. John Graziano said. "And I believe he was."
"During the 2 1/2-hour service, friends and relatives remembered how, as a child, Kiefer chased fires on his bike, listened to scanners instead of music and used his two younger sisters, Lauren and Kerri, as probies while staging firefighting drills in his backyard. His family captured Kiefer's love for his job, family and fiancee, Jamie Huggler, in a 38-page booklet of photos, memorials penned by friends and strangers, and handwritten notes he sent to loved ones. "I wish my children would write me letters like those he wrote to you," former Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Bud and Pat Kiefer. "And I hope they do."
Huggler recalled finding notes from her fiance on cards, envelopes and paper scraps, declaring how Kiefer couldn't wait to spend his life with her. They met three years ago in an emergency room, while Kiefer was working as an EMT. "Every day we shared together since then was one to remember," she said. "You fulfilled your calling, and you did your best, Michael," said the Rev. Tom Groenewold, the family's pastor. "We love you."
