John Downing (1961-2001) was an 11-year veteran of the New York Fire Department, assigned to Ladder Company 163. He was one of three firefighters who died in the "Father’s Day Fire" in Astoria on June 17, 2001. Fifty others were injured. He was survived by his wife Anne and children Joanne and Michael. Downing had an extended family that ranged from Queens to Ireland.

See the entry for Firefighters John Downing, Harry Ford and Brian Fahey Way.