Tarel Coleman, 32, was given the ironic nickname of “Prozac” for his aggressive style as a defensive back on the FDNY’s football team. “He did not suffer bad calls gladly.” He also played softball for three teams and avidly followed the Knicks and Giants. Coleman was the father of a teenaged daughter. His brother is a firefighter too.
Coleman was fast. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. He also loved to dance, “He would not leave the dance floor.” The family story everyone tells is the time Tarel, aged five and fascinated by fire stuck his head into his apartment building’s incinerator. singeing his eyelashes and eyebrows. His family knew there and then he was destined to be a firefighter.