The Lil’ Bravest was started by a group of Firefighters from Engine 84 and Ladder 34, located in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. They started the Lil’ Bravest in honor of two of their “Brothers” they lost in 2010. On October 17th, 2010 Rory O’flaherty , who served two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Army, passed away due to an enlarged heart at the age of 31. It was an unexpected tragedy. Two months later they lost their mentor and “senior man” of the firehouse John “Sully” Sullivan. John was a 27 year veteran of Ladder 34 and died on Christmas Eve, 2010 of cancer as a result of his rescue and recovery efforts following September 11th.