John Knox, FDNY fire marshal, dies of coronavirus complications

Longtime New York City fire marshal John Knox, who investigated hundreds of blazes during his 36 years with the FDNY, died on Long Island Monday from complications from coronavirus, according to department and union officials.

Knox died at Mount Sinai South Nassau Medical Center in Oceanside, after spending nearly three weeks in the hospital with what first appeared to be the flu. Knox, of Queens, was 83 years old. 

“Our sympathies and prayers go out to the Knox family during this especially difficult time, following the tragic loss of their beloved husband, father and grandfather,” said Gerard Fitzgerald, president of the FDNY-Firefighters Association. 

“John was a proud fire marshal representative in the Uniformed Firefighters Association and served this department and his fellow fire marshals for many years. We are thankful for the memories and grateful to his service to this city and this union,” Fitzgerald said. 

Knox, who investigated the 1975 FALN Fraunces Tavern bombing that killed four and injured more than 40, struggled with respiratory problems after working at Ground Zero in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. 

It was not clear how Knox became exposed to coronavirus, which has infected more than 1,000 people in New York State. 

“The patient — who had not traveled to any high-risk countries or been exposed to someone with symptoms of COVID-19 — was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 26th and did not meet the CDC criteria in place at the time for COVID-19 testing,” Mount Sinai officials said in a statement. “He did have an underlying chronic health condition as well as new symptoms. He later was diagnosed with COVID-19.” 

Many of Knox’s family members are in self-isolation due to COVID-19 exposure, the Mount Sinai statement said.

Nassau County on Tuesday reported the death of its first resident due to coronavirus, a day after Suffolk reported its first three deaths.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said on Tuesday that the first resident to become a casualty of the outbreak was a 96-year-old man who died at Mercy Medical Center on Monday.