‘Brave Colors’ brings FDNY to life at Fire Museum
BY TODD MAISEL
Since joining the Fire Department
in 2006, Lieutenant Kyra Neeley
King has not only seen a great
melding of various rescue services —
including medical professionals and
fi refi ghters — into a cohesive response
force, but she’s also witnessed these
brave fi rst responders serving a common
purpose of helping New Yorkers.
King, a liaison to Fire Commissioner
Dan Nigro and a photographer, has
brought that idea of common purpose
to life in a new exhibit now on display at
the Fire Museum in SoHo in Manhattan
through January.
Called “Brave Colors,” the exhibit
features photographs she has taken
of the men and women of the FDNY,
working at various scenes. The collection,
however, speaks to the human element
of being a member of this prestigious
department, one of the largest in
the nation.
For King, photography is an extension
of who she is, and she uses her abilities
to tell a story about the people she works
with through black-and-white photos.
Her photos include selective spots of
color, such as fl ags and other insignia,
which create a sort of 3-D effect on the
walls of the museum gallery.
The Fire Department was a major
career change for the energetic King,
who can be seen in the fi eld wearing her
white liaison helmet, with two cameras
swinging from her neck ready to get
photos as part of the Incident Management
Team.
The lieutenant started out with a degree
from Boston University; she later
attained a Masters in education from
Lt. Kyra Neeley King showed off her photographs of firefighters and emergency medical technicians at the
Fire Museum entitled “Brave Colors.” The exhibit runs through January.
Brooklyn College, and then taught
fourth grade in a Bedford-Stuyvesant
elementary school. It wasn’t until her
mother was injured, did she decide to
join the Emergency Medical Service
and the FDNY.
“It just stuck with me and I thought
that my mom and dad would’ve been
disappointed, but it turns out they are
very proud of me,” she said.
Photography became part of her life,
fi rst using her cell phone, and then
making the transition to professional
grade gear. Her mother and her uncle
are both professional photographers;
her uncle works as a commercial artist,
while her mother is a photographer
with a nonprofi t. Their experiences
gave King guidance as her photography
skills developed.
But fi rst, she got her feet wet as an
EMT, working on an ambulance in
Manhattan out of Bellevue, Harlem
Hospital and then, transferred to a
Queens as a rescue medic. It was there
that she became injured while assisting
a female patient who grabbed her shoulder
hard, causing an injury that would
require surgery.
While recuperating, King was assigned
to FDNY headquarters, where
fi re offi cials realized her skills. They
offered the newly promoted lieutenant
the liaison job – which entailed working
with IMT and taking photos for the
team’s use.
The lieutenant’s experience working
on the streets made her well suited
for her new role, as she would meet
fi refi ghters and EMS personnel on the
streets – she would photograph them
– but “please don’t smile, just be yourself,”
she’d say.
While taking photos that are essential
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
to the department’s understanding
of each event, she has managed to capture
the human side of the department’s
people – fi nding the expressions of intensity,
while allowing spot color to accentuate
the scene.
She likes to joke that she “outranks”
her husband – “his lieutenants agree,
but he doesn’t,” she chided.
“It’s more than just photography,
it’s the inspiration,” King said as she
straightened a photo that was somewhat
off balance. “It’s really about pictures
of people – women and men on the job.
You hear about events like Medal Day,
but it’s really about the work done every
day. Yes, it can be a dangerous job, but
we are constantly moving so when you
see them here, it’s really neat to capture
these moments of the various services
working together.”
The photo exhibit will run through
January. The museum is located at 278
Spring St. and is open daily from 10 to
5 p.m. Prints are available for sale, with
the proceeds going towards the FDNY
Museum.
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Lt. Kyra Neeley King’s photo of firefighters in a line watching a fire, a
single woman firefighter in the line has color on her helmet.
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
King works at a 3-alarm fire this past year, capturing images for command
and for her co-workers.
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